LIBRARY 

OF   THB 
»  AT 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

DONATION  OP 

SAMUEL    A  G  N  E  W  , 

/^  OF    P  H I L  A  I>  K  L  P  H  I A ,   P  A . 

Letter 


No. 


*<£■  o<^>3e<^^s~*^*B- 


-?■?' 


Case*  '  Division 
.    Shelf,  Se'cYian ;Jjl 


r 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/onbenevolencerecOOshin 


ON  THE 


BENEVOLENCE   AND    RECTITUDE 


SUPREME  BEING. 


BY 


ASA    SHINN. 

God  is  Love. 

This  then  is  the  message  which  we  have  heard  of  him,  and 
declare  unto  you,  that  God  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no 

DARKNESS  AT  ALL,. John. 


BALTIMORE: 

BOOK  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  METHODIST  PROTESTANT  CHURCH. 
PHILADELPHIA: 

JAMES    KAY,    JUN.    &    BROTHER. 
1840. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by  Asa  Shinn, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  in  and  for  the 
Western  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


Printed  and  Bound  by 
JAMES  KAY,  J  UN.  &  BROTHER, 
Philadelphia. 
(2) 


PREFACE. 


The  following  pages  were  written  with  conscientious 
solicitude  to  avoid  error,  and  to  advance  such  truth  as 
will  have  the  surest  tendency  to  promote  the  present 
and  eternal  happiness  of  mankind  ;  from  a  settled  con- 
viction that  it  is  the  interest  of  all  men  to  understand 
and  to  believe  the  truth,  and  that  if  we  voluntarily  ad- 
here to  any  modification  of  error,  we  do  it  to  our  own 
hurt,  and  to  the  injury  of  our  fellow-creatures. 

The  reader's  candid  attention  is  respectfully  re- 
quested ;  and  he  is  solicited  to  pursue  the  following  in- 
vestigation, in  the  order  in  which  it  is  exhibited.  It  is 
hoped  he  will  read  the  book  through  regularly,  as  the 
best  and  perhaps  the  only  way  in  which  he  can  do  jus- 
tice to  the  truth,  to  the  author,  or  to  himself.  If  in  his 
progress  he  shall  meet  with  sentiments  and  conclusions 
which  may  be  calculated  to  disturb  preconceived  opin- 
ions, let  him  be  composed,  and  patiently  read  on :  per- 
haps in  a  subsequent  part  of  the  work  he  will  find  these 
matters  explained  or  qualified,  or  peradventure  sustained 
with  an  amount  of  evidence  which  will  carry  his  own 

(3) 


IV  PREFACE. 

best  judgment  along  with  it.  Truth  will  injure  no  man ; 
and  sound  evidence  will  never  support  error  upon  this 
or  any  other  subject  of  intelligent  inquiry. 

If  the  reader,  after  surveying  the  whole  ground, 
should  still  have  doubts  concerning  the  correctness  of 
any  leading  sentiment,  let  him  give  the  book  a  second 
reading,  with  a  view  to  ascertain .  where  the  author 
missed  his  way,  and  by  what  illusive  appearances  of 
proof  he  unhappily  imposed  upon  his  own  understand- 
ing. After  this  matter  shall  have  been  ascertained,  it 
may  be  well  for  the  reader  to  exercise  a  sufficient  de- 
gree of  mental  effort  to  answer  the  question  satisfacto- 
rily to  himself,  —  By  what  methods  are  the  arguments 
of  this  book  to  be  set  aside,  or  explained  away,  on  sup- 
position that  these  arguments  are  really  on  the  side  of 
error  1 

The  time  has  passed  away,  for  evidence  to  be  nulli- 
fied by  an  appeal  to  authority,  or  inquiry  silenced,  by 
sounding  the  alarm  of  novelty  and  heterodoxy.  If  our 
creeds  cannot  bear  examination,  their  correctness  ought 
to  be  suspected ;  and  so  far  as  they  rest  on  a  perma- 
nent foundation,  a  vigorous  and  candid  scrutiny  will 
only  make  it  manifest  that  they  cannot  be  shaken, 
because  they  are  founded  upon  a  rock. 

This  is  peculiarly  an  age  of  benevolent  enterprise. 
The  benevolence  of  the  Supreme  Being,  which  is  the 
theme  of  the  present  treatise,  is  the  foundation  of  them 
all ;  and  on  this  they  depend  for  all  their  salutary  effi- 
ciency.    Were  the  Almighty  of  an  opposite  character, 


PREFACE.  V 

ail  benevolent  efforts  would  either  be  direct  hostility 
against  him,  or  would  be  unconnected  with  any  of  his 
governing  purposes.  But  if  he  be  essentially  benevo- 
lent, then  all  associations  of  this  description  may  confi- 
dently look  up  to  him  for  his  all-sufficient  protection. 

In  case  any  one  of  the  philanthropic  societies  of  the 
present  day  should  be  charged  with  being  only  half 
benevolent; — with  being  actuated  by  contradictory  prin- 
ciples, and  aiming  at  the  production  of  absolute  misery, 
as  one  of  its  ultimate  objects ; — would  not  its  members 
view  this  charge  as  a  very  great  reproach  1  To  guard 
the  character  of  the  Supreme  Being  from  such  a 
reproach,  is  the  design  of  the  following  pages.  If  the 
reader  should  hesitate  concerning  any  sentiment  here 
advanced,  let  him  weigh  the  subject  well,  and  examine 
whether  it  be  possible  on  any  other  ground  to  sustain 
the  proposition,  that  Almighty  God  is  really  a  good 
Being.  To  suppose  that  the  Divine  Mind  carries  an 
infinite  contradiction  within  itself,  is  an  absurdity  as 
untenable  as  Atheism ;  and  any  tenet  which  necessa- 
rily involves  this  consequence,  even  though  its  antiquity 
be  equal  to  that  of  Manicheism,  is  as  certainly  false,  as 
it  is  indubitable  that  God  himself  is  true.  A  perfectly 
good  being  is  always  consistent  with  himself;  his  object 
is  benevolent,  not  in  some  things  merely,  but  in  all 
things ;  and  his  invariable  disposition  is  as  far  removed 
from  all  favouritism,  on  the  one  hand,  as  it  is  from  a 
relentless  tyranny,  on  the  other.  This  is  the  true  key 
to  the  whole  of  the  following  investigation ;  and  the 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

leader  is  respectfully  requested  to  carry  it  along  with 
him,  as  a  needful  test,  with  which  to  measure  all  the 
doctrines  that  will  be  submitted  to  his  deliberate  and 
candid  inspection. 

The  author  believes  that  the  salvation  of  human 
souls  is  accomplished  through  the  instrumentality  of 
truth,  impressed  by  clear  evidence  upon  the  judgment, 
and  not  by  a  mere  appeal  to  the  passions  of  the  heart. 
A  man  must  have  right  thoughts  of  God,  before  he  can 
exercise  right  affections  towards  him.  The  feelings 
ought  indeed  to  be  excited ;  but  this  excitement  must 
result  from  the  impressive  views  and  convictions  of  the 
understanding,  or  it  will  be  like  the  morning  cloud,  and 
the  early  dew.  The  word  of  God  tells  us  that  we  are 
"  chosen  to  salvation  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
and  belief  of  the  truth ;"  and  that  the  reason  why  men 
are  lost,  is  that  "  they  receive  not  the  love  of  the  truth, 
that  they  might  be  saved."  (2Thess.ii.  10— 13.)  There- 
fore the  evidence  of  truth  must  be  presented  in  all  its 
clearness  and  force  in  order  for  men  to  believe  it,  and 
with  its  native  attractions  in  order  for  them  to  love  it  ; 
and  if  they  be  influenced  both  to  believe  and  to  love  the 
truth,  God  says  they  will  thereby  be  saved.  Hence  the 
reader  will  be  assured,  that  the  following  argumenta- 
tive investigation  has  been  pursued,  not  with  a  view  to 
indulge  in  metaphysical  speculations,  but  from  an  im- 
pressive conviction  that  the  author  could  not  pursue  any 
other  method  that  would  be  more  effectual,  in  pro- 
moting the  happiness   and  salvation  of  mankind.     If 


PREFACE.  Vll 

men  will  not  think,  they  cannot  be  saved ;  and  the  more 
they  employ  their  mental  energies,  in  following  sound 
evidence  in  all  the  extent  of  its  application,  the  more 
thoroughly  will  truth  get  hold  of  their  intellectual  and 
moral  faculties,  and  the  more  permanently  will  it  seat 
itself  in  the  affections  of  their  hearts. 

Hence  our  obligation  is  sacred,  to  use  our  best  endea- 
vours to  find  the  truth,  and  to  diffuse  it  through  society 
as  extensively  as  we  can ;  and  all  efforts  to  hinder  man- 
kind from  availing  themselves  of  every  aid  to  distin- 
guish truth  from  error,  are  as  antichristian  as  they  are 
unreasonable.  Protestants  ought  not,  in  the  midst  of 
their  remonstrances  against  Popery,  to  imitate  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church,  in  her  attempts,  both  by  autho- 
rity and  management,  to  impede  the  progress  of  truth 
and  knowledge  amongst  the  people.  If  the  several 
Protestant  sects  make  their  creed  the  standard  to  which 
the  Bible  must  yield,  by  subjecting  the  latter  to  a  strictly 
sectarian  course  of  expounding,  wherein  do  they  differ 
from  Papists  1  If  they  have  a  right  to  pursue  this 
course,  Roman  Catholics  have  exactly  the  same  right ; 
and  of  course  were  justifiable  in  using  their  utmost 
power  and  policy  to  prevent  the  Reformation. 

We  are  told  in  ecclesiastical  history  that  Heretics 
had  greatly  troubled  the  church  for  several  hundred 
years.  And  pray,  when  were  the  Heretics  subdued, 
and  when  was  pure  orthodox  truth  rendered  undisturbed 
and  triumphant  ?  Was  it  at  the  time  of  the  Crusades, 
or  not  until  after  the  establishment  of  the  Inquisition  ? 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

What  ecclesiastical  historian  can  give  us  information  on 
this  point  ? 

All  Protestant  denominations  have  practically  said 
that  the  church  of  Rome  is  herself  a  Heretic;  and 
hence  they  have  cast  off  her  authority,  and  have  unani- 
mously protested  against  her  various  errors  and  cor- 
ruptions. They  ought  not,  therefore,  to  assume  the 
same  infallible  position  which  they  so  strenuously  deny 
to  the  Mother  Church  ;  nor  should  they  resort  to  similar 
measures,  to  hinder  reason  and  revelation  from  having 
the  fair  and  unobstructed  attention  of  mankind.  It  is 
obvious  as  the  light  of  heaven,  that  there  is  no  way  for 
Protestants  to  avoid  these  practical  contradictions,  but 
to  discontinue  sectarian  intrigue,  and  to  leave  the 
souls  of  all  men  free  to  regulate  their  faith  by  an  atten- 
tive and  candid  examination  of  evidence ;  that  they 
may  not  be  tempted  to  yield  a  passive  and  unmanly 
submission  to  the  dictates  of  human  authority. 

On  these  grounds  the  liberty  may  be  allowed,  for  the 
author  to  entreat  all  Protestant  Christians  not  to  use 
unfair  efforts  to  hinder  the  following  arguments  from 
finding  their  way  through  society ;  but  on  the  contrary, 
let  candid  Christians  lend  their  friendly  assistance  to 
call  off  the  public  attention  from  novels  and  vain  amuse- 
ments, to  the  study  of  that  Divine  Character,  which  is 
the  perfection  of  all  beauty,  the  standard  of  all  excel- 
lence, and  the  source  of  all  felicity. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS, 


Introduction Page  11 

PART  FIRST.— PRELIMINARY. 

SECTION  I. 

The  nature  of  Good  and  Evil 17 

SECTION  II. 
The  true  Character  of  Deity  stated. — Importance  of  knowing  its 

bearing  upon  the  Christian  Revelation 21 

SECTION  III. 

The  several  ways  in  which  God  manifests  his  Character 37 

SECTION  IV. 
None  of  God's  instructions  fail  to  produce  their  effect,  except  by 

our  inattention  and  neglect 50 

SECTION  V. 

An  Answer  to  an  Objection  of  a  late  author 60 

SECTION  VI. 
The  greatness  of  God  must  be  taken  into  view,  in  the  illustration 
of  his  goodness 67 

PART  SECOND. 

DIRECT   EVIDENCE   OF  GOD'S   BENEVOLENT   CHARACTER. 

SECTION  I. 

Proofs  derived  from  the  self-sufficiency  of  God 85 

SECTION  II. 
The  constitution  of  Nature 94 

SECTION  III. 
Nature  and  tendency  of  the  Divine  Law 106 

SECTION  IV. 
The  Gospel 110 

SECTION  V. 
Direct  testimony  of  the  Scriptures 115 

SECTION  VI. 
Religious  Experience 119 

PART  THIRD. 

NO   PROVIDENTIAL  ACTS   OP  OUR  CREATOR,  AND  NO  PROVISIONS   OF  HIS  MORAL 
GOVERNMENT,   WHEN    CORRECTLY   UNDERSTOOD,   AFFORD   THE    LEAST    EVI- 
DENCE  OF   DUPLICITY  IN   HIS   CHARACTER. 
SECTION  I. 

Varieties  of  capacity,  and  original  circumstances  of  our  existence, 

afford  no  such  evidence 125 

SECTION  II. 
Responsibility 131 

(9) 


X  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  III. 
Hazardous  circumstances. — Temptation 140 

SECTION  IV. 
The  Fall  and  consequent  Misery  of  Man 150 

SECTION  V. 
Subsequent  treatment  of  the  fallen  race 164 

SECTION  VI. 

The  wrath  of  God — its  principle  and  nature   169 

SECTION  VII. 

Supposed  partiality  of  God  towards  nations 175 

SECTION  VIII. 
Imaginary  decrees  of  God  in  reference  to  individuals 194 

SECTION  IX. 
Causes  of  future  punishment   207 

SECTION  X. 
Ultimate  ends  of  future  punishment 216 

SECTION  XI. 
Severity  of  future  punishment. — Its  eternity 230 

PART  FOURTH. 

OBLIGATIONS  ON  MANKIND  RESULTING  FROM  THE  DIVINE  CHARACTER. 
SECTION   I. 

Consideration  257 

SECTION  II. 
The  fear  of  God. — Repentance 266 

SECTION  III. 
Confidence  in  God 274 

SECTION  IV. 
Injurious  tendency  of  such  views  of  the  Divine  Government  as  are 
inconsistent  with  this  confidence  in  God 279 

SECTION  V. 
The  love  of  God. — Its  obligation  universal  and  unchangeable  ....  298 

SECTION  VI. 
Rejoicing  in  the  Lord. — Complacency  in  his  entire  Character  and 
Government   311 

SECTION  VII. 

Objections  considered 324 

SECTION  VIII. 
Objections  considered  341 

SECTION  IX. 
A  condensed  view  of  the  operations  of  Moral  Government 363 

SECTION  X. 
Importance  of  a  true  knowledge  of  God,  in  its  influence  on  future 
generations   376 

Conclusion 389 


INTRODUCTION. 


Serious  and  thoughtful  minds  have  often  laboured 
with  perplexity,  and  have  been  more  or  less  afflicted 
with  doubt,  in  regard  to  the  perfect  goodness  of  the 
Supreme  Being.  They  find  that  the  proofs  of  this  great 
truth  are  strong  and  impressive ;  but  perceive  them  to 
be  connected  at  the  same  time,  with  certain  obscurities 
which  they  cannot  comprehend;  and  they  find  their 
minds  embarrassed  by  apparent  difficulties  in  nature, 
and  more  still,  perhaps,  by  gloomy  views  exhibited  in 
existing  systems  of  theology.  Hence  they  feel  that  any 
thing  calculated  to  relieve  their  conceptions  on  this 
point,  would  be  an  advantage  to  them  of  no  common 
interest  and  value. 

The  essential  character  of  God  is  a  subject  of  pri- 
mary importance  to  the  whole  intelligent  universe.  On 
this  depends  the  reformation  of  the  sinner,  the  perse- 
verance of  the  saint,  the  consolation  of  the  afflicted  and 
dying,  and  the  perpetual  tranquillity  of  all  the  hosts  of 
heaven.  A  sinner  may  be  terrified  by  mere  apprehen- 
sions of  punishment ;  but  a  true  and  sentimental  repent- 

(ii) 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

ance  will  never  take  place  in  his  mind,  nor  a  genuine 
reformation  in  his  life,  till  he  shall  have  some  tolerably 
correct  views  concerning  the  excellency  of  the  Divine 
nature.  The  goodness  of  God  must  lead  him  to  repent- 
ance. For  it  is  opposition  to  a  good  Being,  and  to  a 
good  law,  which  has  rendered  his  own  character  a  bad 
one.  This  evil  of  his  heart  and  life,  the  penitent  ho- 
nestly acknowledges ;  which  implies  a  full  admission  in 
his  intelligence,  that  the  Being  against  wrhom  he  has 
been  standing  in  opposition,  is  as  excellent  as  he  him- 
self is  vile.  Without  such  a  conviction,  there  can  be 
no  sentimental  repentance ;  and  if  repentance  be  not 
sentimental,  how  can  it  be  sincere  ? 

The  same  will  hold,  in  regard  to  confidence  in  God. 
How  can  a  sinner  receive  the  record  which  God  gave 
of  his  Son,  but  on  the  ground  that  God  is  a  being  of 
perfect  veracity,  whose  record  is  ahvays  true  ?  How 
can  he  cordially  embrace  the  plan  of  Redemption,  with- 
out being  convinced  that  love  was  the  source  of  it? 
How  can  he  trust  in  Christ,  without  believing  that  he  is 
trust-worthy  ?  or  how  follow  him  in  the  way,  without 
being  persuaded  that  he  is  a  perfectly  good  conductor, 
who  will  not  deceive  him,  or  lead  him  into  misery  1  It 
is  equally  evident,  that  the  same  confidence  in  the  cha- 
racter of  God  must  continue  with  a  man  through  life ; 
for  on  this  confidence  depends  all  virtue  and  happiness; 
and  the  more  clear  and  steady  a  person's  views  are, 
concerning  the  absolute  rectitude  and  excellency  of  the 
Divine  Being,  the  more  permanent  will  be  his  principles 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

of  moral  action.  Hence,  the  supreme  importance  of 
this  subject  is  easily  perceived. 

Much  talent  has  been  employed,  to  prove  that  there 
is  a  God.  This  is  indeed  very  necessary ;  but  it  sus- 
tains only  one  half  of  the  truth ;  and  without  the  other 
half,  this  would  produce  no  effect,  except  perhaps  to  fill 
the  world  with  terror  and  consternation.  It  is  in  vain 
to  prove  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  unless  it  be 
proved  equally  that  he  is  a  Good  Being.  He  may  be 
supreme  in  power,  in  understanding,  and  in  many  other 
attributes ;  but  this  is  the  great  question — is  he  supreme 
in  Benevolence  1  If  this  be  not  true,  atheism  itself 
would  be  a  refuge  to  every  thinking  mind;  for  an 
Almighty  Being  of  an  evil  disposition,  were  such  a 
thing  possible,  would  destroy  the  value  of  every  other 
truth,  and  would  cast  the  whole  universe  into  a  gloomy 
prospect,  infinitely  worse  than  that  of  universal  annihi- 
lation. 

He  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and 
that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him. 
The  first  embraces  his  existence,  and  the  second  his 
essential  character.  This  great  and  fundamental  truth 
is  the  basis  of  all  virtue  and  felicity.  It  is  the  brilliant 
Sun  which  illuminates  created  minds,  attracts  and  puri- 
fies our  moral  powers,  melts  our  affections,  gives  sub- 
limity and  grandeur  to  nature,  promotes  the  harmony 
of  society,  and  trains  up  millions  of  souls  for  the  bless- 
edness of  immortality. 

But  the  atheist  says  there  is  no  God.  Then  there  is 
2 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

no  Author  or  Owner  of  the  world — no  Almighty  Father 
and  Friend  of  the  human  race.  The  universe  is  a  blank, ' 
and  existence  a  calamity !  By  Chance  we  came  into 
life,  and  by  the  same  Chance  we  may  continue  to  live 
and  suffer  to  all  eternity  !  In  vain  does  the  unbeliever 
soothe  his  soul  with  the  prospect  of  an  eternal  sleep ; 
for  by  what  argument  can  he  prove  that  we  will  not 
live  by  chance  in  eternity,  as  certainly  as  we  have  lived 
by  chance  in  time  ?  And  whether  our  future  state  will 
chance  to  be  a  heaven  or  a  hell,  no  atheist  is  able  to  in- 
form us.  If  it  be  a  heaven,  no  thanks  to  any  intelligent 
author ;  and  if  a  hell,  no  hope  from  any  parental  guar- 
dian or  friend,  to  save  us  from  its  horrors.  On  this 
dreadful  uncertainty,  what  considerate  man  would  not 
lament  that  he  ever  opened  his  eyes  upon  the  light,  or 
ever  breathed  the  vitality  of  the  atmosphere  ? 

It  is  not  the  present  design  to  pursue  in  detail  the 
proofs  of  a  Divine  Intelligent  Existence.  This  has  been 
done  with  great  ability,  by  Dr.  Paley  in  the  last  centu- 
ry, and  by  lord  Brougham  and  Dr.  Chalmers  in  the  pre- 
sent ;  and  the  works  of  those  authors  are  well  worth 
an  attentive  and  candid  examination.  The  second 
branch  of  the  subject,  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of  them 
that  diligently  seek  him,  or  that  he  is  essentially  a  bene- 
volent Being,  though  incidentally  introduced  and  proved 
by  many  authors,  yet  may  perhaps  be  susceptible  of  a 
further  illustration.  Its  illustration  is  attempted  in  the 
following  pages ;  and  the  subject  is  exhibited  in  such  a 
light  as  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  satisfactory  to  inquiring  and 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

anxious  minds,  by  tending  to  relieve  them  from  some 
of  their  deepest  mental  perplexities. 

A  subject  so  universally  and  superlatively  interesting 
as  this,  ought  to  be  examined  in  all  its  import  and  con- 
sequences; and  its  bearings  should  be  traced  in  the 
whole  extent  of  their  application  to  the  Divine  govern- 
ment through  time  and  through  eternity.  To  rest  in  a 
general  and  vague  acknowledgment  that  God  is  good, 
without  surveying  the  proofs  and  results  of  his  good- 
ness, is  like  a  mere  profession  that  we  are  in  favour  of 
truth,  while  we  refuse  to  follow  it  in  its  connections  and 
dependences,  in  order  as  far  as  possible  to  distinguish 
it  from  error.  To  acknowledge  that  God  is  good,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  hold  fast  to  such  doctrines  as  essen- 
tially contradict  his  goodness,  is  to  refuse  him  that 
homage  of  the  mind  and  heart,  which  is  due  to  Him 
from  every  intelligent  being. 

The  conclusion  appears  plain,  therefore,  that  both 
interest  and  moral  obligation  call  upon  us  to  examine 
this  subject  with  all  candour,  and  with  a  persevering 
exercise  of  our  utmost  mental  energies ;  in  order  there- 
by to  secure  our  own  well-being,  to  improve  the  morals 
and  happiness  of  society,  and  to  advance  the  honour 
and  glory  of  our  Creator. 


PART   FIRST 

PRELIMINARY. 


SECTION  I. 
The  nature  of  Good  and  Evil. 

These  words  are  applied  both  to  matter  and  to 
mind ;  but  they  can  only  be  applied  to  the  former,  on 
account  of  its  connection  with  the  latter.  If  there  were 
no  minds  in  existence,  matter  would  be  good  for  no- 
thing ;  because  matter  has  no  life  and  feeling  in  itself, 
and  the  words  good  and  evil  can  have  no  meaning,  ex- 
cepting so  far  as  they  relate  to  beings  alive,  and  who 
are  consequently  capable  of  happiness  or  misery. 
Hence  it  appears  that  good  is  that  which  produces 
happiness,  and  evil  is  that  which  produces  misery. 
Whether  we  speak  of  solids  or  liquids,  agents  or  instru- 
ments, food  or  drink,  medicines  or  poisons,  we  call  that 
good  which  tends  to  promote  our  well-being,  and  that 
evil  which  leads  us  into  any  kind  or  degree  of  essential 
happiness. 

But  what  do  we  mean  when  we  speak  of  a  good  or 
an  evil  mind  ?    We  mean  a  mind  that  is  disposed  to 

2*  A*  (17) 


18  GOOD  AND  EVIL  EXAMINED. 

communicate  happiness  or  misery.  A  good  disposition 
comprehends  the  affections,  and  implies  that  the  indi- 
vidual is  delighted  in  doing  good ;  or  that  he  himself  is 
happy,  in  the  act  of  making  others  so.  Goodness  in  a 
mind,  therefore,  consists  in  those  principles  or  mental 
properties,  which  furnish  enjoyment,  both  to  the  indi- 
vidual himself,  and  to  others  who  come  under  the  influ- 
ence of  his  voluntary  actions.  A  good  man,  out  of  the 
good  treasure  of  his  heart,  bringeth  forth  that  which  is 
good. 

Now  when  we  inquire  concerning  God,  whether  he 
is  a  good  Being  or  not,  how  is  it  possible  to  arrive  at 
any  conclusion,  unless  we  take  the  word  good  in  the 
same  sense  in  which  we  apply  it  to  other  minds  ?  His 
attributes,  it  may  be  said,  are  a  great  mystery ;  and 
though  he  is  infinitely  good,  yet  the  word  goodness 
when  predicated  of  him,  signifies  something  else  than 
when  applied  to  his  creatures.  Then  can  any  creature 
conceive  what  else  its  import  is  ?  We  may  talk  about 
an  infinite  unknown  something ;  but  to  us  it  must  be  a 
nonentity,  till  we  are  able  to  form  some  conception  of 
its  nature ;  and  if  it  have  no  resemblance  to  any  thing 
found  in  the  human  spirit,  how  can  it  afford  any  aid  to 
our  conceptions,  concerning  the  inquiry  whether  our 
Maker  be  a  good  Being  or  not  ?  We  do  not  ask  whe- 
ther he  be  an  infinite  something  which  we  do  not  under- 
stand ;  but  whether  he  possess  that  moral  excellence 
which  we  do  understand.  Our  Saviour  says  "  God  is 
a  spirit."     Now  it  is  obvious  that  so  far  only  as  we  un- 


GOOD  AND  EVIL  EXAMINED.  19 

<derstand  what  the  word  spirit  means,  can  we  receive 
instruction  from  this  proposition.  The  Apostle  John 
says  "  God  is  love ;"  but  if  wre  know  not  what  the  word 
love  means,  we  are  as  ignorant  of  God  as  we  were  he- 
fore  we  received  this  information.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  justice,  mercy,  and  veracity :  when  our  Creator 
claims  these  principles?  as  belonging  to  himself,  he 
speaks  of  what  he  knows  we  understand,  or  may  un- 
derstand, by  consulting  the  consciousness  of  our  own 
minds. 

Such  principles  as  these,  or  their  opposites,  constitute 
that  which  we  mean  by  the  Word  character.  Good  in- 
tentions, or  good  principles'of  action,  constitute  a  good 
character ;  the  contrary,  a  bad  one ;  and  he  who  has 
no  principles  of  action,  has  no  character  at  all.  Can 
this  last  be  said  of  our  Creator  '( 

It  may  be  thought,  perhaps,  that  the  Almighty  is  so 
great  a  sovereign,  as  to  be  above  all  character,  and  per- 
fectly independent  of  principle  ;  that  he  has  a  right  to 
regulate  his  actions  by  any  motive,  and  that  any  moral 
system  which  he  might  form  would  be  made  right  and 
good,  by  his  act  of  forming  it  in  his  mind.  As  well 
might  we  say,  he  never  formed  a  plan  of  operations  in 
consequence  of  his  perceiving  it  to  be  a  wise  plan,  but 
that  his  act  of  forming  and  pursuing  it  made  it  a  wise 
one,  whatever  it  might  be  !  That  when  he  says  any 
thing,  he  does  not  say  it  because  it  is  true,  but  because 
his  saying  it  will  make  it  true,  and  would  have  so  made 
its   contrary!     When  God  created  the  world  in  the 


SO  GOOD  AND  EVIL  EXAMINED.. 

manner  he  did,  it  was  because  "  God  saw  that  it  was 
good;"  but  according  to  the  above  supposition,  he 
might  have  done  the  reverse  of  what  he  has  done,  both 
in  his  natural  and  moral  productions,  and  yet  the  whole 
would  have  been  very  good  !  Whether  the  attributing 
of  such  sovereignty  as  this  to  our  Creator  would  not 
degrade  instead  of  exalting  him,  let  all  intelligent  spirits 
judge.  Shall  a  sovereign  majesty  be  too  great  to  be 
good,  or  claim  a  right  to  trample  all  right  beneath  his 
feet?  In  regard  to  the  actions  of  such  a  sovereign, 
benevolence,  justice,  and  truth  could  have  no  opposites; 
and  hence  it  would  follow,  that  the  greatest  and  best 
of  all  characters,  is  that  which  knows  no  distinction 
between  right  and  wrong  !  It  would  involve  the  egre- 
gious contradiction,  that  a  being  can  have  a  right  to  do 
wrong,  or  to  change  the  one  into  the  other.  If  these 
positions  are  too  absurd  to  be  admitted,  we  appear  to 
be  fairly  entitled  to  the  conclusion,  that  God  really  has 
a  character,  consisting  of  essential  attributes,  or  princi- 
ples of  action ;  and  that  it  wrould  be  impossible  for  him 
to  act  upon  opposite  principles,  without  forming  for 
himself  an  opposite  character,  and  consequently  a  bad 
one. 

The  reader  must  bear  with  these  metaphysical  dis- 
tinctions ;  for  they  are  manifestly  essential  to  the  honour 
of  our  Creator,  and  to  produce  in  us  that  love  and  vene- 
ration which  are  so  becoming  in  creatures,  and  so  justly 
due  to  His  eternal  majesty. 

Vague  conceptions  concerning  this  important  subject, 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  21 

will  be  unspeakably  injurious;  and  it  is  the  wisdom  and 
duty  of  intelligent  creatures  to  use  their  best  endeavours 
to  form  clear  and  definite  views  of  the  Divine  Charac- 
ter, on  which  depend  all  mental  and  moral  improve- 
ment, as  well  as  all  satisfying  and  permanent  enjoy- 
ment through  earth  and  heaven. 


SECTION  II. 

The  true   Character  of  Deity  .stated. — Importance  of 
knowing  its  bearing  upon  the  Christian  Revelation. 

Every  moral  character  must  be  either  good  or  bad, 
without  mixture,  or  must  be  a  compound,  partly  good 
and  partly  evil.  It  is  presumed  that  this  is  a  complete 
enumeration ;  for  no  other  alternative  appears  possible. 

Now  we  must  believe  that  God  is  perfectly  good,  or 
entirely  evil,  or  that  he  is  a  compound  of  opposite  quali- 
ties. The  first  is  the  professed  belief  of  most  Chris- 
tians ;  the  second  has  probably  never  had  an  advocate ; 
but  the  third,  that  in  God  there  is  a  combination  of  good 
and  evil,  was  openly  taught  by  an  ancient  sect ;  and  it 
seems  to  be  implied  in  the  doctrines  of  no  inconsidera- 
ble number  of  creeds,  both  ancient  and  modern.  If  it  be 
true,  one  manifest  consequence  of  it  appears  to  be,  that 
there  is  an  eternal  conflict  in  the  Divine  Mind,  and  that 
the  happiness  of  God  is  impaired,  in  proportion  as  the 


22  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

evil  part  of  his  character  operates  against  the  good. 
This  we  know  to  be  the  result  of  good  and  evil,  as 
they  conflict  with  each  other  in  ourselves ;  and  what 
reason  can  we  have  to  believe  our  Creator  is  free  from 
misery,  but  because  he  is  free  from  the  internal  causes 
of  it? 

Grant  then  that  God  is  perfectly  good,  without  any 
imperfection  whatever,  and  it  will  follow,  that  there  is 
no  duplicity,  variation,  or  contradiction  in  the  Divine 
Mind.  Can  that  which  is  purely  and  unchangeably 
good,  ever  contradict  itself?  We  speak  of  justice, 
faithfulness,  truth  and  veracity,  as  belonging  to  our 
Creator.  Are  not  all  these  attributes  parts  of  a  good 
character?  Is  not  justice  a  good  thing?  Then  how 
can  it  contradict  any  thing  else  that  is  good  ?  Surely 
justice  stands  opposed  to  nothing  but  to  that  which  is 
unjust;  it  eterv  ally  supports  everything  that  is  right, 
and  only  opposes  wrong;  consequently,  if  there  is  no 
wrong  in  God,  there  is  nothing  in  him  which  justice 
ever  opposes,  or  hinders  from  having  its  full  operation. 
God  is  in  one  mind,  and  there  is  no  attribute  in  him 
which  in  any  moment  of  eternal  duration  can  cause 
him  to  be  "  double-minded."  Let  this  position  be  sus- 
tained by  authority. 

Dr.  Dwight  says,  "  The  benevolence  of  God  is  his 
whole  moral  character.  This  divine  disposition  is  the 
boundless  energy  of  the  infinite  Mind ;  the  intense  and 
immeasurable  love  of  doing  good,  unceasingly,  and 
endlessly,  producing  that  happiness,  in  which  it  delights. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  23 

We  commonly  speak  of  the  moral  character  of  God, 
as  compounded  of  many  separate  attributes ;  of  good- 
ness, bounty,  mercy,  truth,  justice,  faithfulness,  and  pa- 
tience. The  exercises  of  benevolence  are  so  numerous, 
and  so  diversified,  as  to  need,  if  we  would  consider 
them  clearly,  and  usefully,  to  be  arranged  in  different 
classes,  denoted  by  different  names,  and  separately  con- 
templated by  our  minds.  Still,  it  is  also  useful  to  re- 
member what  the  Scriptures  have  taught  us  in  the  text, 
that  the  whole  character  of  God  is  love ;  an  intense  and 
eternal  flame  of  micompounded  good-will"  Dwight's 
Theology.  Vol.  I.  p.  188,  189. 

Now  a  Being  whose  "  whole  character  is  love,"  can 
have  no  vestige  of  malice ;  and  "  uncompounded  good- 
will" necessarily  excludes  every  kind  and  degree  of 
ill-will,  under  all  circumstances  whatsoever.  Then 
there  is  no  more  hatred  or  ill-will  in  the  attribute  of 
justice,  than  there  is  in  benevolence.  Of  course,  unless 
we  are  disposed  to  maintain  that  the  Divine  character 
is  a  compound  of  good  and  evil  principles,  we  must 
conclude  that  his  disposition  is  a  perfect  unity  of  un- 
compounded love,  always  consistent  with  itself,  and 
perfectly  harmonious  in  all  its  energies  and  modifica- 
tions. 

We  are  sorry  to  find  so  respectable  an  author  as  Dr. 
Chalmers  apparently  aiming  to  involve  this  important 
conclusion  in  some  doubt  and  uncertainty.  In  his 
"  Evidence  and  Authority  of  the  Christian  Revelation," 
he  says,  "  Were  a  verbal  communication  to  come  to  us 


24  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

from  a  person  at  a  distance,  there  are  two  ways  in 
which  we  might  try  to  satisfy  ourselves,  that  this  was 
a  true  communication,  and  that  there  was  no  imposition 
in  the  affair.  We  might  either  sit  in  examination  upon 
the  substance  of  the  message  ;  and  then  from  what  we 
knew  of  the  person  from  whom  it  professed  to  come, 
judge  whether  it  was  probable  that  such  a  message 
would  be  sent  by  him  ;  or  we  may  sit  in  examination 
upon  the  credibility  of  the  messengers. 

"  It  is  evident,  that  in  carrying  on  the  first  examina- 
tion, we  might  be  subject  to  very  great  uncertainty. 
The  professed  author  of  the  communication  in  question 
may  live  at  such  a  distance  from  us,  that  we  may  never 
have  it  in  our  power  to  verify  his  message  by  any  per- 
sonal conversation  with  him.  We  may  be  so  far  igno- 
rant of  his  character  and  designs,  as  to  be  unqualified 
to  judge  of  the  kind  of  communication  that  should  pro- 
ceed from  him. 

"  Now,  this  consideration  applies  in  all  its  parts  to  a 
message  from  God.  We  may  sit  in  judgment  upon  the 
subject  of  the  message ;  or  we  may  sit  in  judgment 
upon  the  credibility  of  its  bearers.  The  substance  of 
the  message  is  neither  more  nor  less,  than  that  particu- 
lar scheme  of  the  divine  economy  which  is  revealed  to 
us  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  the  point  of  inquiry  is, 
whether  this  scheme  be  consistent  with  that  knowledge 
of  God  and  his  attributes  which  we  are  previously  in 
possession  of. 

"  It  appears  to  many,  that  no  effectual  argument  can 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  25 

be  founded  upon  this  consideration,  because  they  do  not 
-count  themselves  enough  aco^iainted  with  the  designs  or 
character  of  the  Being  from  whom  the  message  pro- 
fesses to  have  come.  (p.  10,  11,  12.)  We  are  not  com- 
petent to  judge  of  the  conduct  of  the  Almighty  in  given 
circumstances.  It  is  not  for  man  to  assume  what  is 
right,  or  proper,  or  natural  for  the  Almighty  to  do.  (p. 
159.)  Our  whole  attention  is  directed  to  the  validity 
of  the  record ;  and  the  moment  that  this  validity  is  es- 
tablished, we  hold  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  submit  our 
minds  to  the  entire  and  unmodified  impression  of  the 
testimony  contained  in  it.  (p.  160.)  We  hold  the  total 
insufficiency  of  natural  religion  to  pronounce  upon  the 
intrinsic  merits  of  any  revelation.  We  profess  our- 
selves to  be  too  little  acquainted  with  the  character 
of  God ;  and  that  in  this  little  corner  of  his  works,  we 
see  not  far  enough  to  offer  any  decision  on  the  merits 
of  a  Government,  which  embraces  worlds,  and  reaches 
eternity."  (p.  155,  156.) 

In  addition  to  the  above  statements,  Dr.  Chalmers 
says  again,  "  We  look  upon  the  mind  of  an  Atheist,  as 
in  a  better  state  of  preparation  for  the  proofs  of  Chris- 
tianity than  the  mind  of  a  Deist.  He  [the  Atheist]  has 
no  God  of  nature  to  confront  with  that  real  though  in- 
visible power  which  lay  at  the  bottom  of  those  aston- 
ishing miracles,  on  which  history  has  stamped  her  most 
authentic  characters.  Though  the  power  which  pre- 
sided there  should  be  an  arbitrary,  an  unjust,  or  a 
malignant  being,  all  this  may  startle  a  Deist,  but  it  will 

3  B 


26  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

not  prevent  a  consistent  Atheist  from  acquiescing  in  any 
legitimate  inference,  to  which  the  miracles  of  the  Gos- 
pel, viewed  in  the  simple  light  of  historical  facts,  may- 
chance  to  carry  him.  (p.  168, 171.)  If  there  be  nothing 
then,  in  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  nature,  to  infer  a 
God,  do  these  extraordinary  phenomena  supply  him 
with  no  argument  ?  Does  a  voice  from  heaven  make 
no  impression  upon  him?  (p.  172.)  Instead  of  learning 
the  designs  and  character  of  the  Almighty  from  his 
own  mouth,  we  sit  in  judgment  upon  them  ;  and  make 
our  conjecture  of  what  they  should  be,  take  the  prece- 
dency of  his  revelation  of  what  they  are."  (p.  180.) 

The  learned  author  frequently  returns  to  this  theme 
in  the  course  of  his  work  on  the  evidence  and  authority 
of  the  Christian  Revelation,  and  manifests  considerable 
solicitude  to  make  the  impression,  that  we  cannot  argue 
from  the  character  of  the  Christian  Revelation,  that  it 
came  from  God,  because  we  know  not  what  the  char- 
acter of  God  is ;  and  therefore  cannot  know  wrhat  kind 
of  a  revelation  should  come  from  him.  On  this  subject 
the  following  remarks  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

1.  If  we  are  so  unacquainted  with  the  character  of 
God,  that  we  are  not  to  '  sit  in  judgment'  on  any  com- 
munication that  professes  to  come  from  him,  then  we 
have  no  authority  to  argue  from  the  character  of  the 
religion  established  by  Mahomet,  that  it  did  not  come 
from  God.  Nay,  had  his  system  been  so-  much  worse 
than  it  is,  as  to  teach  that  God  is  «  arbitrary,  unjust  and 
malignant,'  we  should  still  be  bound  to  receive  and  sub- 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  HI 

mit  to  it,  provided  the  testimony  of  its  i  messengers' 
were  credible,  in  testifying  to  miraculous  facts  in  its 
support.  Would  not  this  be  surrendering  ourselves  to 
an  arbitrary,  unjust  and  malignant  government  1  Could 
any  revelation  impose  a  moral  obligation  on  any  being 
to  be  subject  to  such  a  government  ?  If  it  would,  then 
revealed  religion  can  sanctify  tyranny,  and  transform 
wrong  into  right,  and  right  into  wrong. 

2.  However  credible  the  messengers  may  be,  they 
can  only  testify  that  they  saw  certain  miracles,  and  that 
the  performer  of  the  miracles  taught  them  certain  doc- 
trines ;  but  this  will  not  prove  the  doctrines  to  be  true  ; 
for  if  we  know  nothing  of  the  character  of  him  who 
reveals  them,  what  evidence  can  we  have  that  he  is  not 
a  deceiver,  who  intends  to  impose  falsehoods  upon  us  ? 
We  say  the  marks  of  honesty  are  so  manifest  in  the 
conduct  of  the  bearers  of  the  message,  that  we  cannot 
doubt  their  veracity.  And  has  the  Author  of  the  mes- 
sage given  no  marks  of  honesty  upon  his  conduct,  by 
which  we  can  have  equal  evidence  of  his  veracity? 
If  he  has  not,  then  he  may  have  deceived  the  apostles, 
and  through  them,  deceived  all  mankind :  if  he  has 
given  such  marks,  then  it  is  not  true  that  he  has  left  us 
in  entire  ignorance  of  his  character.  We  know  our 
Creator  is  trust-worthy,  not  merely  because  he  says  it, 
but  because  he  has  proved  it,  by  action,  as  every  other 
being  proves  the  reality  of  his  character. 

3.  Suppose  mankind  had  been  compelled  by  evidence 
which  they  could  not  resist,  to  believe  in  a  revelation 


28  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

informing  them  that  their  Maker  is  essentially  an  evil 
and  malignant  being,  would  such  a  revelation  be  a 
blessing  to  the  world  ?  Would  it  promote  the  happi- 
ness, or  the  misery,  of  the  human  race  1  Even  if  it 
were  intended  to  envelope  the  whole  intelligent  crea- 
tion in  gloom,  as  the  prelude  to  universal  despair,  phi- 
losophy, it  seems,  will  nevertheless  require  us  to  receive 
it  with  "  the  hardihood  of  unfeeling  intelligence." 

4.  If  a  revelation  had  been  given  encouraging  every 
vice  and  prohibiting  every  virtue,  under  the  severest 
penalties,  it  is  supposed  we  ought  to  receive  and  to  act 
upon  it,  provided  only  that  its  historical  documents 
were  credible.  If  we  knew  nothing  concerning  our 
Creator,  we  could  not  determine  whether  he  would 
not  be  as  likely  to  give  this  kind  of  a  revelation  as 
any  other.  Do  we  look  with  horror  upon  such  a  sup- 
position ?  It  is  exactly  because  of  the  strong  evidence 
which  our  Maker  has  established  in  nature,  and  in 
our  moral  faculties,  of  the  purity  and  benevolence  of 
his  disposition. 

5.  Though  it  be  granted,  that  we  cannot  compre- 
hend all  the  operations  of  "  a  government  which  em- 
braces worlds,  and  reaches  eternity,"  yet  this  arises 
from  the  vast  extent  of  the  system,  and  not  from  our 
ignorance  of  the  '  character  and  designs'  of  our  Cre- 
ator. This  character  is  perfect  loveliness,  and  his  de- 
sign is  to  prevent  evil  and  to  promote  good  to  all  eter- 
nity, so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  the  one  to  be  prevented, 
and  the  other  promoted.     To  deny  this,  is  to  say  that 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  29 

Ood  does  not  intend  to  do  what  he  enjoins  on  all  his 
children, — that  is,  to  do  all  the  good  he  can.  We  may- 
be astonished  at  the  vastness  and  seeming  mystery  of 
his  plan  of  operating ;  but  that  his  design,  is  to  do  the 
greatest  possible  good,  is  a  conclusion  which  follows 
from  the  perfection  of  moral  character,  as  evidently  as 
light  flows  from  the  sun. 

But  these  arguments  must  be  sustained  by  authority. 
The  first  we  shall  produce  is  that  of  Dr.  Chalmers  him- 
self. On  page  183  of  the  work  before  mentioned, 
speaking  of  the  earliest  Christians,  he  says,  "  There 
was  nothing  in  their  antecedent  theology  which  they 
could  have  any  respect  for :  nothing  w~hich  they  could 
confront,^  or  bring  into  competition  with  the  doctrines 
of  the  New  Testament.  In  those  days,  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus  came  to  the  mind  of  its  disciples,  recom- 
mended by  its  novelty,  by  its  grandeur,  by  the  power 
and  recency  of  its  evidences,  and  above  all  by  its  vast 
and  evident  superiority  over  the  fooleries  of  a  degrading 
Paganism.  It  does  not  occur  to  us,  that  men  in  these 
circumstances  would  ever  think  of  sitting  in  judgment 
over  the  mysteries  of  that  sublime  faith  which  had 
charmed  them  into  an  abandonment  of  their  earlier  re- 
ligion. It  rather  strikes  us,  that  they  would  receive 
them  passively ;  and  that  the  restless  tendency  of  the 
human  mind  to  speculation,  would  for  a  time  find  ample 
enjoyment  in  the  rich  and  splendid  discoveries,  which 
broke  like  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  world." 

Now  we  may  be  permitted  to  ask, — did  not  those 


30  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

early  disciples  so  far  '  sit  in  judgment'  as  to  decide  that 
their  '  sublime  faith'  was  more  worthy  of  God  than  '  the 
fooleries  of  a  degrading  Paganism  1 '  Had  they  been 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  divine  character  when  '  that 
sublime  faith'  was  first  revealed  to  them,  it  would  have 
been  utterly  impossible  for  them  to  know  which  was 
more  likely  to  come  from  God,  Paganism  or  Chris- 
tianity. If  they  were  convinced  of  the  truth  and  di- 
vinity of  the  Christian  revelation,  on  account  of  '  the 
rich  and  splendid  discoveries  which  broke  like  a  flood 
of  light  upon  the  world,'  it  was  because  they  were  well 
enough  acquainted  with  God,  to  know  that  '  rich  and 
splendid,  things'  would  come  from  him,  rather  than  such 
as  would  be  '  foolish  and  degrading.'  They  knew  that 
*  a  flood  of  light'  would  proceed  from  him,  and  not  the 
darkness  of  a  mind  that  is  'arbitrary,  unjust  and  ma- 
lignant.' 

Our  second  authority  is  Dr.  Dwight :  he  says,  (Vol.  I. 
p.  212,)  "Distrust  is  an  entire  separation  of  an  intelli- 
gent being  from  his  Maker.  We  cannot  possibly  co- 
incide voluntarily  with  the  designs  of  a  being,  unless 
we  confide  in  his  truth  and  benevolence,  and  of  course 
in  the  rectitude  of  those  designs.  No  virtuous  obedi- 
ence can  be  yielded  to  laws,  of  whose  rectitude  we 
are  not  satisfied  ;  no  complacency  exercised  towards  a 
character,  in  which  we  do  not  confide;  no  gratitude 
rendered  for  benefits,  conferred  by  a  suspected  bene- 
factor ;  no  reliance  placed  on  promises,  made  by  a  be- 
ing of  doubted  veracity ;  and  no  praise-worthy  efforts 


LMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  31 

made  to  promote  designs,  regarded  as  suspicious  and 
unworthy.  Without  confidence,  the  soul  is  separated 
of  course,  from  its  Creator.  How,  then,  can  God  be 
pleased  with  this  character,  or  accept  him  in  whom  it 
exists?'1 

From  this  quotation  it  follows  that  unless  creatures, 
when  a  revelation  is  given  them  from  God,  know 
enough  of  his  character  to  be  convinced  of  his, "  truth 
and  benevolence,"  and  the  "  rectitude  of  his  designs," 
they  cannot  possibly  so  "  confide  "  in  him  as  to  receive 
the  revelation  from  his  hands  ;  and  that  there  could  be 
no  "obedience"  to  such  a  revelation,  nor  any  "com- 
placency" or  "gratitude"  for  the  bestowment  of  it,  but 
upon  a  conviction  of  the  goodness  and  rectitude  of  • 
Him  from  whom  the  revelation  comes. 

The  evidence  of  divine  goodness  is  indeed  greatly 
enlarged  by  the  discoveries  of  revelation ;  but  a  previ- 
ous knowledge  of  this  subject,  in  some  degree,  is  neces- 
sary to  furnish  created  minds  with  the  capacity  to  re- 
ceive a  revelation  from  God,  and  to  appreciate  its  evi- 
dences ;  as  much  so  as  first  principles  are  necessary  as 
a  foundation  for  all  conclusive  reasoning  in  every  other 
branch  of  human  knowledge. 

The  great  mind  of  Dr.  Chalmers  wTas  hampered  in 
its  mental  progress,  by  a  preconceived  system  of  theol- 
ogy, which  produced  unfair  reasoning,  and  sometimes 
brought  darkness  and  error  into  his  conclusions.  After 
exhibiting  a  variety  of  luminous  arguments  in  proof  of 
the  existence  and  skill  of  a  Supreme  Being,  he  furnishes 


32  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

nothing  for  his  readers  but  this  melancholy  conclusion : 
"  In  the  workmanship  of  nature  we  behold  an  infinity 
of  special  adaptations  to  special  objects,  each  of  which 
bespeaks  a  sovereign  mind  that  plans  and  purposes — 
yet  there  may  the  deepest  obscurity  hang  over  the  ques- 
tion, what  is  the  plan  or  purpose  of  this  workmanship 
on  the  whole  1  What  is  true  of  an  individual,  is  true 
of  a  species  or  of  a  universe.  Throughout,  and  in  its 
separate  parts,  it  may  be  pregnant  with  the  notices  of 
a  Divinity — yet  in  reference  both  to  its  creation  and  its 
government,  to  the  principle  in  which  it  originated  and 
the  consummation  in  which  it  issues,  there  may  be  an 
overhanging  mystery — and  man,  all  clear  and  confident 
on  the  question  that  God  is,  may  abide  notwithstanding 
in  deepest  ignorance  of  His  purposes  and  His  ways." 
Natural  Theology,  Vol.  I.  p.  278. 

This  seems  to  imply,  that  although  wonderful  wisdom 
has  been  employed  in  framing  a  universe,  and  in  fash- 
ioning the  body  and  soul  of  man,  yet  it  is  altogether 
uncertain  whether  the  ultimate  end  of  the  system  will 
accomplish  a  wise  and  benevolent  purpose  or  not.  It 
cannot  be  successfully  denied,  that  the  ultimate  end  of 
a  wise  plan,  contains  equal  wisdom  with  any  of  the 
foregoing  parts ;  for  it  was  for  the  sake  of  the  end,  that 
the  parts  were  contrived  at  all.  To  suppose  Almighty 
God  to  employ  so  much  exact  intelligence  in  the  forma- 
tion of  man,  as  to  constrain  every  thinking  man  to 
wonder  at  himself,  and  yet  to  consider  it  doubtful 
whether  a  wise  and  good  end  were  intended,  "  on  the 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  33 

whole,"  appears  to  me  to  be  unspeakably  reproachful 
to  our  Creator.  If  a  human  agent  should  be  at  great 
pains,  and  should  employ  vast  mechanical  skill,  in  finish- 
ing a  complicated  machine,  that  was  intended  for  no- 
thing, and  could  accomplish  nothing,  his  skill  in  the 
contrivance  would  only  prove  the  greatness  of  his  folly, 
in  employing  his  faculties  for  no  valuable  end.  A  Being 
who  is  truly  wise,  carries  forward  the  whole  of  his 
wisdom  into  the  ultimatum  of  his  operations ;  and  the 
same  is  true  of  a  Being  who  is  really  benevolent.  The 
supposition  that  a  benevolent  disposition  will  prepare  a 
creature  for  happiness,  and  furnish  the  necessary  means, 
without  intending  the  creature's  happiness  as  the  ulti- 
mate end  of  the  contrivance,  is  a  very  manifest  contra- 
diction; and  could  never  be  seriously  entertained  by 
the  human  mind,  if  as  much  attention  were  devoted  to 
the  perfection  and  immutability  of  moral  principles,  as 
their  importance  deserves. 

"  There  may,"  says  Dr.  Chalmers,  "  the  deepest  ob- 
scurity hang  over  the  question,  what  is  the  plan  or  pur- 
pose of  this  workmanship  on  the  whole?"  This  may 
be  true,  if  we  mean  only  that  the  circumstances  and 
the  details  are  unknown  to  us ;  but  the  general  "  pur- 
pose," or  end  aimed  at  by  the  Author,  will  undoubtedly 
be  the  same  which  presided  over  the  construction  of 
the  means.  Why  else  were  the  means  contrived  at  all? 
Over  this  question  there  hangs  no  "  obscurity;"  for 
every  proof  we  have  of  our  Creator's  wisdom  and 
kindness  in  the  contrivance,  is  a  proof  equally  strong 


34  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

of  his  wisdom  and  kindness  in  the  object  of  that  con- 
trivance ;  otherwise  we  charge  him  with  employing 
great  acuteness  and  skill  for  nothing,  or  for  the  accom- 
plishing of  an  end  which  will  be  worse  than  nothing : 
the  former  supposition  contains  a  complete  definition  of 
folly,  and  the  latter  of  malevolence.  The  employment 
of  a  high  degree  of  skill,  in  the  accomplishment  of  a 
frivolous  end,  is  greater  folly  than  an  employment  of 
little  skill  for  such  a  purpose ;  and  a  system  of  means 
which  has  the  appearance  of  benevolence,  when  a  con- 
trary end  is  intended  by  its  Author,  seems  manifestly 
to  imply  the  deceitfulness  of  an  evil  and  malignant  dis- 
position. 

I  conclude,  therefore,  that  if  we  have  no  evidence  of 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God's  ultimate  purposes 
towards  his  intelligent  creation,  we  have  no  evidence 
c  f  his  wisdom  and  goodness  in  any  of  the  arrange- 
ments and  contrivances  of  nature.  The  presumptuous 
criminality  of  mankind  evidently  requires  a  correspond- 
ing course  of  measures,  on  the  part  of  the  Supreme 
Ruler ;  and  the  seeming  severity  of  those  measures  is 
accounted  for  by  the  malignant  energy  of  the  evil 
which  they  are  intended  to  counteract  and  to  subdue. 
It  is  unjust  and  unreasonable  to  entertain  suspicions 
against  the  Almighty,  on  account  of  his  treatment  of 
'our  fallen  race ;  for  the  malicious  ungodliness  of  the 
world  is  utterly  inexcusable,  and  deserves  the  righteous 
indignation  of  heaven,  and  the  just  vengeance  of  hea- 
ven's insulted  Sovereign. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  35 

"  When  looking  to  an  individual  man,"  says  Dr* 
Chalmers,  "  we  cannot  but  recognize  the  conceptions 
of  an  architect,  in  the  teeth,  and  the  eyes,  and  the 
hands,  and  all  the  parts  of  manifest  subserviency  which 
belong  to  him — yet  remain  unable  to  solve  the  enigma 
of  his  being,  or  to  fathom  the  general  conception  of 
the  Divinity  in  thus  ushering  a  creature  to  existence, 
that  he  may  live  in  restless  vanity,  and  die  in  despair.'' 
(Ibid.) 

As  to  man's  living  "  in  restless  vanity,"  this  provi- 
dential arrangement  is  manifestly  intended  as  a  salutary 
check  upon  the  corruption  of  the  human  soul.  It  is  a 
course  of  parental  chastisement  for  man's  stupid  obsti- 
nacy, in  refusing  to  give  truth  and  conscience  a  hear- 
ing, and  in  spending  his  life  in  successive  acts  of  irra- 
tional and  diabolical  wickedness.  Those  who  repent 
of  their  sins,  and  submit  to  the  holy  and  just  demands 
of  their  Creator,  far  from  "  dying  in  despair,"  prove  the 
truth  of  God's  word,  that  "  the  righteous  hath  hope  in 
his  death,"  and  realize,  in  substance,  the  views  and 
feelings  of  the  dying  apostle :  "  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day ;  and  not  to 
me  only,  but  to  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing." 
(2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8.) 

It  may  be  fairly  presumed,  that  no  son  or  daughter 
of  Adam  ever  "  died  in  despair,"  except  by  the  weight 
of  unrepented  guilt,  or  from  the  influence  of  some  de- 


36  IMPORTANCE  OF  KNOWING  GOD. 

lusive  doctrine,  which  distorted  the  character  of  the 
Supreme  Being.  When  "  the  wicked  is  driven  away 
in  his  wickedness/'  in  consequence  of  his  having  de- 
spised Divine  goodness  to  the  last,  shall  his  despair  em- 
barrass our  attempts  "  to  fathom  the  general  concep- 
tions of  the  Divinity,"  in  regard  to  the  ultimate  pur- 
poses of  its  moral  government  1 

If  we  believed  the  Almighty  to  be  the  author  of  the 
despairing  man's  heedless  inconsideration ; — the  con- 
triver and  producer  of  his  crimes  and  his  misery ; — 
this  would  truly  conduct  us  to  "  an  overhanging  mys- 
tery ;"  but  false  theology  would  be  the  cause  of  it,  and 
not  any  legitimate  evidence  of  the  Divinity,  derived 
either  from  nature  or  from  revelation. 

The  wickedness  of  mankind  on  this  globe  is  not  the 
result  of  necessity,  but  is  a  voluntary  and  unneces- 
sitated  course  of  irrational  stupidity,  hard-hearted  ma- 
levolence, and  insulting  effrontery  to  God  and  to  all 
upright  society.  The  excuses  of  sinners  are  founded 
in  error  and  falsehood ;  and  this  falsehood  has  been 
spread  through  the  world,  to  the  soothing  of  many  a 
guilty  conscience,  by  erroneous  methods  of  teaching 
the  Christian  religion. 

The  darkness  is  all  contained  in  man's  free  and  un- 
necessitated  abominations;  and  it  is  utterly  unjust  to 
assume  that  the  deep  foundation  of  all  this  evil  was  laid 
in  the  predestinated  counsels  of  heaven  ;  or  in  other 
words,  that  sin  and  its  consequences  are  produced  and 
perpetuated  by  the  decree  and  irresistible  agency  of 


SEVERAL  WAYS  OF  KNOWING  GOD.  49 

ficient  evidence,  or  demand  our  obedience,  without 
making  it  our  greatest  interest  to  obey.  The  sin  of  un- 
belief consists  in  its  uncandid  disregard  of  evidence  ; 
and  the  turpitude  of  rebellion  is  measured  by  the 
amount  of  its  hostility  to  pure  goodness  and  righteous- 
ness. It  is  too  often  assumed,  that  as  the  Almighty  is 
a  great  Being,  he  demands  of  us  to  take  his  word,  and 
to  obey  his  mandates,  upon  the  sole  authority  of  his 
sovereign  greatness.  This  supposes  that  right  has  its 
origin  in  power,  and  that  truth  is  to  he  known,  and  an 
obligation  of  credence  imposed,  by  the  ipse  dixit  of  ab- 
solute  majesty.  This  secret  assumption  has  been  fondly 
adopted,  as  a  basis  for  the  doctrine  of  eternal  election 
and  reprobation ;  and  it  has  carried  darkness  and  con- 
fusion through  the  systems  of  theology  for  more  than 
three  hundred  years.  If  Arminians  admit  the  principle, 
consistency  will  require  them  to  adopt  all  its  legitimate 
results  ;  if  they  reject  it,  they  will  find  themselves  con- 
ducted to  the  conclusion,  that  our  Creator  never  de- 
manded faith  in,  and  obedience  to,  any  revelation  given 
from  him  to  his  creatures,  without  having  previously 
given  them  sufficient  evidence  of  the  veracity  and  rec- 
titude of  his  eternal  character.  He  proved  to  them  the 
reality  of  his  goodness  and  righteousness,  by  a  course 
of  benevolent  action,  before  he  made  any  revealed  in- 
junction or  demand  upon  them,  either  to  credit  his  tes- 
timony, or  to  submit  to  his  authority. 
5  c 


SECTION  IV. 

None  of  GooVs  instructions  fail  to  produce  their  effect, 
except  by  our  inattention  and  neglect. 

In  all  the  Divine  communications,  man  is  treated  and 
dealt  with  as  a  voluntary  agent.  Truth  is  not  conveyed 
irresistibly,  excepting  such  first  principles  as  are  neces- 
sary to  put  the  understanding  and  the  will  into  action. 
After  this,  the  soul  is  left  free,  either  to  hear  or  to  turn 
away  from  its  Maker's  instructions.  The  fall  attention 
of  the  mind  ought  in  candour  to  be  given  to  the  teach- 
ings of  God,  through  whatever  medium  they  may  ap- 
proach us.  But  alas  !  Adam's  fallen  and  wicked  race 
"  turn  away  from  Him  that  speaketh  from  heaven." 
They  scorn  the  wisdom  of  the  eternal,  and  choose  to 
walk  in  their  own  counsel. 

If  "  the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,"  if  a  reve- 
lation was  originally  given,  and  delivered  by  tradition 
to  the  first  generations  of  mankind,  and  if  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  also  striving  with  them,  how  did  it  happen 
that  they  wandered  into  such  base  idolatry  and  wicked- 
ness 1  It  was  because  "  They  did  not  like  to  retain  God 
in  their  knowledge  : — when  they  knew  God,  they  glo- 
rified him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful ;  but  be- 
came vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart 
was  darkened."     Can  any  modern  theologian  give  a 

(50) 


EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS.  51 

more  reasonable  and  satisfactory  account  of  the  matter 
than  this  1 

Shall  we  say  the  wandering  of  the  Heathens  proves 
the  inadequacy  of  the  means  used  for  their  instruction 
and  salvation  ?  Then  will  not  the  same  conclusion  hold 
in  regard  to  the  Jews,  who  wandered  so  far  from  Mo- 
ses and  the  prophets,  that  when  they  made  a  proselyte 
he  was  made  "  a  child  of  hell,"  instead  of  being  con- 
verted and  reformed  ?  And  besides,  what  heathen  na- 
tion ever  became  more  abandoned  than  was  the  church, 
at  the  time  of  the  crusades,  the  image  worship,  and  the 
Inquisition  ?  Did  heathens  ever  do  worse  1  Were 
they  ever  sunk  into  deeper  ignorance,  or  deeper  vice  1 
Never.  Then  if  their  ignorance  and  degradation  fur- 
nished a  demonstration  that  the"  light  which  heaven 
afforded  them  was  inadequate,  the  corruption  of  the 
church  equally  proved  that  the  Bible  was  insufficient. 
We  need  not  wonder  that  the  Bible  does  not  lead  those 
into  virtue  and  happiness  who  never  "  search  the  Scrip- 
tures;" nor  that  spiritual  influence  does  not  convert 
those  who  "  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  their 
fathers  did ;"  and  as  little  cause  have  we  to  be  surprised 
that  the  works  of  nature  do  not  convey  a  saving  know- 
ledge of  God  to  those  who  regard  not  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  and  do  not  consider  the  operation  of  his  hands. 

God  had  reserved  unto  himself  seven  thousand  men 
in  Israel,  even  during  the  gloomy  and  idolatrous  days 
of  Ahab,  that  loved  and  obeyed  him ;  and  there  has 
probably  never  been   a  period  of  the  world  in  which 


52  EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS. 

any  nation  was  so  far  gone,  either  during  the  reign  of 
Pagan  idolatry  or  through  the  dark  ages  of  the  church, 
that  no  individuals  among  them  acknowledged  God, 
and  followed  the  guidance  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  Some 
appear  to  think  it  impossible  that  there  should  be  any 
truly  virtuous  men  amongst  the  heathens,  because,  as 
they  suppose,  God  has  not  given  them  a  sufficiency  of 
light  to  lead  a  single  soul  of  them  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. But  is  it  at  all  probable,  that  God  would  keep 
millions  of  mankind  on  the  stage  of  human  action, 
from  age  to  age,  who  are  not  in  a  state  of  moral  pro- 
bation and  responsibility  1  If  so,  for  what  purpose  do 
they  exist  ?  Will  any  one  say  those  creatures  can  be 
in  a  state  of  trial,  who  have  not  light  enough  to  show 
them  the  right  and  the  wrong,  or  to  enable  them  to 
avoid  the  one  and  to  pursue  the  other  1  If  it  be  said 
the  heathens  have  light  enough  to  leave  them  without 
excuse,  but  not  to  save  them,  what  can  be  the  import 
of  such  a  proposition  1  If  they  have  not  light  enough 
to  save  them,  they  are  not  guilty  of  the  crime  of  re- 
jecting salvation.  Then  for  what  are  they  culpable  1 
For  not  living  so  virtuously  as  the  light  of  nature 
taught  them  to  live  ?  They  had  power  to  live  thus  vir- 
tuously, or  they  had  not ;  if  they  had  not,  to  what  pur- 
pose was  the  light  given,  and  how  did  it  leave  them 
without  excuse  ?  if  they  had,  then  of  course  they  might 
be  saved,  by  doing  all  that  was  required  in  order  to 
their  salvation.  Shall  we  go  to  the  heathens,  and  tell 
them  that  all  their  fathers  will  be  punished  in  a  lake  of 


EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS.  53 

everlasting  fire,  for  not  following  the  directions  of  a 
Saviour  of  whom  they  never  heard  ?  Will  these  sad 
tidings  dispose  them  to  give  a  ready  hearing  to  the  les- 
sons of  the  Christian  religion  ?  , 

Such  a  doctrine  as  this  we  cannot  receive ;  and  it 
may  now  be  proper  to  sustain  the  opposite  views,  by 
the  authority  of  two  distinguished  theological  writers. 
The  first  is  the  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  who  says,  "  The 
case  of  Heathen  Nations  has  sometimes  been  referred 
to  by  Calvinists,  as  presenting  equal  difficulties  to  those 
urged  against  their  scheme  of  election  and  reprobation. 
But  the  cases  are  not  at  all  parallel,  nor  can  they  be 
made  so,  unless  it  could  be  proved  that  Heathens,  as 
such,  are  inevitably  excluded  from  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven ;  which  is  not,  as  some  of  them  seem  to  suppose,  a 
conceded  point.  "Those,  indeed,  if  there  be  any  such, 
who,  believing  in  the  universal  redemption  of  mankind, 
should  allow  this,  would  be  most  inconsistent  with  them- 
selves, and  give  up  many  of  those  principles  on  which 
they  successfully  contend  against  the  doctrine  of  abso- 
lute reprobation.  The  dispensation  of  religion  under 
which  all  those  nations  are  to  whom  the  gospel  has 
never  been  sent,  continues  to  be  the  patriarchal  dispen- 
sation. That  men  were  saved  under  that  in  former 
times,  we  know.  We  indeed  know  that  some  virtuous 
Heathens  have  been  found  in  all  ages ;  and  some  earnest 
and  anxious  inquirers  after  truth,  dissatisfied  with  the 
notions  prevalent  in  their  own  countries  respectively;  and 
what  these  few  were,  the  rest  might  have  been  likewise. 
5* 


54  EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS. 

If  all  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong,  and  all  gracious 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  have  passed  away  from  the 
Heathen,  through  the  fault  of  their  ancestors,  and  with- 
out the  present  race  having  been  parties  to  this  wilful 
abandonment  of  truth,  then  they  would  appear  no  longer 
to  be  accountable  creatures,  being  neither  under  law 
nor  under  grace ;  but,  as  we  find  it  a  doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture that  all  men  are  responsible  to  God,  and  that  the 
'whole  world'  will  be  judged  at  the  last  day,  we  are 
bound  to  admit  the  accountability  of  all,  and  with  that, 
the  remains  of  law  and  the  existence  of  a  merciful  gov- 
ernment towards  the  Heathen  on  the  part  of  God." 
(Institutes,  pp.  541,542.) 

Our  next  authority  is  Dr.  Dwight.  He  says,  "A  child 
enters  the  world  in  China;  and  unites,  as  a  thing  of 
course,  with  his  sottish  countrymen  in  the  stupid  wor- 
ship of  the  idol  Fo.  Another  prostrates  himself  before 
the  Lama,  in  consequence  of  having  received  his  being 
in  Thibet,  and  of  seeing  the  Lama  worshipped  by  all 
around  him.  A  third,  who  begins  his  existence  in  Tur- 
key, is  carried  early  to  the  mosque ;  and  habituated  to 
repeat  the  prayers,  and  sentences,  of  the  Koran,  as  the 
means  of  eternal  life.  The  Hindoo  grows  into  a  reli- 
gious veneration  for  the  cow;  and  perhaps  never  doubts, 
that,  if  he  adds  to  this  a  solemn  devotion  to  Juggernaut, 
the  Gooroos,  and  the  Dewtahs,  and  performs  carefully 
his  ablutions  in  the  Ganges,  he  shall  wash  away  all  his 
sins,  and  obtain,  by  the  favour  of  Brahma,  a  seat  among 
the  blessed."     The  Doctor  proceeds  further  with  the 


EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS.  55 

enumeration,  and  says  at  the  close,  "  I  wish  it  to  be  dis- 
tinctly understood,  and  carefully  remembered,  that  in 
the  moral  conduct  of  all  these  individuals  no  physical 
necessity  operates.  Every  one  of  them  is  absolutely  a 
free  agent ;  as  free  as  any  created  agent  can  be.  What- 
ever he  does,  is  the  result  of  choice,  absolutely  uncon- 
strained. Let  me  add,  that  not  one  of  them  is  placed 
in  a  situation,  in  which,  if  he  learns,  and  performs  his 
duty  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability,  he  will  fail  of  being 
finally  accepted."     (Theology,  pp.  267,  268.) 

Now  did  not  Dr.  Dwight  intend  to  be  understood,  that 
no  Heathen  ever  lived  who  had  not  within  his  reach  the 
means  of  eternal  salvation?  Did  he  not  mean  to  say, 
that  a  Heathen  is  as  free  an  agent  as  a  Christian,  and 
that  no  demand  is  made  for  his  agency  to  act,  when  it 
has  nothing  to  act  upon  ?  If  the  Gentile  will  be  "finally 
accepted,"  in  consequence  of  learning  and  performing 
his  duty,  according  to  the  means  and  ability  which  he 
possesses,  then  he  is  truly  in  a  state  of  probation,  and 
"  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right."  Let  this  "  be 
distinctly  understood,  and  carefully  remembered,"  that 
no  unworthy  thoughts  of  God  may  be  entertained  by 
any  human  soul. 

Will  it  be  said,  that  Heathens  have  not  the  privilege 
of  other  redeemed  sinners,  to  be  "accepted"  upon  the 
gospel  plan,  and  that  Dr.  Dwight  only  meant  that  if  they 
would  present  a  spotless  obedience  to  God,  on  the  orig- 
inal ground  of  the  law  of  innocence,  they  should  be 
"  finally  accepted  V     If  so,  his  doctrine  evidently  was, 


56  EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS. 

that  "every  one  of  them 'is  absolutely  a  free  agent;  as 
free  [to  keep  the  law  of  innocence]  as  any  created  agent 
can  be."  [And,  consequently,  possessing  an  equal  agency 
to  do  it,  with  Adam  before  the  fall]  If  the  Heathens 
could  be  "finally  accepted"  in  this  way,  they  would  be 
saved  without  a  Saviour,  and  without  any  act  of  clem- 
ency, or  justifying  mercy,  on  the  part  of  God.  Dr. 
Dwight  did  not  believe  this  doctrine;  and  unless  we 
allow  him  to  have  meant  that  all  men  have  salvation 
within  their  reach,  upon  the  evangelical  plan  of  redemp- 
tion, do  we  not  appear  to  charge  him  with  a  solemn 
shuffling?  —  with  seriously  and  impressively  inviting  his 
readers  to  have  it  "  distinctly  understood,  and  carefully 
remembered" — that  "  every  one  of  them  [the  Heathens] 
might  be  '  finally  accepted,'  provided  they  would  obey 
the  law  of  innocence,  as  Adam  was  required  to  do  in 
Paradise!  This  would  imply  —  "Let  it  be  carefully 
remembered,"  that  the  doctrine  of  inevitable  reproba- 
tion is  here  artfully  concealed  under  the  appearance  of 
sentimental  liberality.  The  worthy  author  whom  we 
have  quoted,  had  too  much  candour  and  dignity  of 
Christian  principle,  to  be  capable  of  such  duplicity  as 
this ;  and  we  are  glad  to  have  his  authority  in  support 
of  a  doctrine  so  worthy  of  God,  as  that  no  Mahometan, 
Jew,  or  Pagan,  will  ever  be  condemned  in  the  future 
world,  but  for  rejecting  a  salvation  which  he  had  it  in 
his  power  to  accept. 

But  if  Heathens  may  be  saved,  notwithstanding  they 
live  and  die  without  any  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus 


EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS.  57 

Christ,  are  they  not  saved  without  a  Saviour  1  Not  at 
all :  the  whole  of  their  salvation  comes  through  the  me- 
diation of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  eternity  they  shall  under- 
stand the  greatness  of  their  obligation.  Many  of  us 
believe  that  all  who  die  in  infancy  are  saved ;  but  it  does 
not  therefore  follow  that  they  are  saved  without  a  Sa- 
viour, because  they  know  him  not  until  after  their  de- 
parture to  the  eternal  world ;  and  equally  futile  is  such 
a  conclusion  in  regard  to  Heathens. 

We  conclude,  upon  the  whole,  that  the  Bible  is  not 
honoured,  but  degraded,  by  being  set  up  as  an  antago- 
nist against  the  light  of  nature.  The  latter  is  sometimes 
hastily  regarded  as  furnishing  a  kind  of  carnal  know- 
ledge, which  has  no  spirituality  in  it;  but  will  God 
separate  his  Spirit  from  his  works,  any  more  than  from 
his  word  1  "  The  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon"  nature 
when  it  was  brought  into  order ;  and  he  is  equally  able 
to  move  upon  the  human  soul  in  conjunction  with  the 
light  v/hich  his  own  works  convey.  He  is  not  the  au- 
thor of  a  carnal  knowledge,  nor  of  a  carnal  creation  ; 
nor  will  any  one  pretend  that  the  works  of  nature  are 
the  productions  of  some  other  God. 

The  Psalmist  says,  "  I  meditate  on  all  thy  works ;  1 
muse  on  the  work  of  thy  hands.  I  consider  the  heavens, 
the  work  of  thy  fingers ;  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which 
thou  hast  ordained."  (Psalm  cxliii.  5  and  viii.  3.)  Elihu 
says,  "God  thundereth  marvellously  with  his  voice; 
great  things  doeth  he,  which  we  cannot  comprehend, 
For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  Be  thou  on  the  earth ;  like- 


58  EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS. 

wise  to  the  small  rain,  and  to  the  great  rain  of  his 
strength.  —  Hearken  unto  this,  O  Job:  stand  still,  and 
consider  the  wondrous  works  of  God."  (Job  xxxvii.  5,  6 
— 14.)  Solomon  also  says,  "  Consider  the  work  of 
God :  for  who  can  make  that  straight,  which  he  hath 
made  crooked?"  (Eccl.  vii.  13.)  The  Almighty  says, 
"  To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  me,  or  shall  I  be  equal  ? 
saith  the  Holy  One.  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and 
behold  who  hath  created  these  things,  that  bringeth  out 
their  host  by  number :  he  caileth  them  all  by  names,  by 
the  greatness  of  his  might,  for  that  he  is  strong  in  power ; 
not  one  faileth."  And  to  his  rebellious  people  he  saith, 
"  Wo  unto  them  that  rise  up  early  in  the  morning,  that 
they  may  follow  strong  drink ;  that  continue  until  night, 
till  wine  inflame  them !  —  But  they  regard  not  the  work 
of  the  Lord,  neither  consider  the  operation  of  his  hands." 
(Isa.  xl.  26  and  v.  11,  12.)  The  inhabitants  of  heaven, 
as  we  are  informed  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, shout  with  exultation  and  joy,  "  Thou  art  worthy, 
O  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honour,  and  power :  for 
thou  hast  created  all  things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they 
are  and  were  created."  Thus  we  learn  that  good  men 
through  earth  and  heaven  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
kindling  their  devotion  at  the  stars ;  while  the  wicked 
and  abandoned  were  involved  in  their  vicious  courses, 
because  they  would  not  regard  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
nor  consider  the  operation  of  his  hands.  And  shall  we 
say,  after  all  this,  that  the  voice  of  God  in  his  creation 
is  a  defective  voice,  calculated  to  produce  only  a  philo- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  GOD'S  INSTRUCTIONS.  59 

sophical  and  carnal  religion  ?  It  is  obviously  the  duty 
of  every  Christian,  while  he  carefully  follows  the  light 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  study  the  works  of  God  with  the 
same  devotional  reverence  which  he  is  to  exercise  in 
reading  the  Holy  Scriptures.  These,  heaven  benign  in 
vital  union  binds  ;  and  what  God  hath  joined  together, 
let  not  man  put  asunder. 

Too  much  attention  to  the  works  of  nature,  with  a 
view  to  form  a  religious  system  from  that  source  exclu- 
sively, is  apt  to  give  rise  to  a  vain  philosophy,  and  to 
terminate  in  infidelity ;  an  adherence  to  the  Bible,  to 
the  disparagement  of  the  Creation,  produces  an  autho- 
ritative bigotry,  and  a  disposition  to  demand  the  sur- 
render of  man's  rational  faculties ;  while  a  pretence 
of  being  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  every  thing,  in  a  way 
of  infallible  inspiration,  is  commonly  observed  to  gene- 
rate a  spirit  of  enthusiasm,  which  undervalues  alike 
both  reason  and  revelation.  Therefore  the  course  of 
true  wisdom  and  piety,  is  to  use  the  good  gifts  of  our 
Heavenly  Father  in  harmony,  and  consistently  to  avail 
ourselves  of  their  joint  operation,  in  conducting  us  in 
the  way  of  everlasting  happiness. 


SECTION  V. 

An  Answer  to  an  Objection  of  a  late  author. 

A  late  author  (Rev.  Mr.  Nelson)  has  published  a 
valuable  book  entitled  "  The  Cause  and  Cure  of  Infi- 
delity," in  which  he  urges  the  common  argument  in 
favour  of  the  Bible,  that  Reason  is  insufficient,  and  has 
led  the  world  astray.  "  Those  ancient  Greeks,"  he 
says,  "  had  great  statesmen,  orators,  and  poets.  Suc- 
ceeding ages  have  gazed  at  them  :  they  believe  that  to 
stand  that  only  son,  that  promising  boy,  on  the  altar, 
and  whip  him  until  his  entrails  could  be  seen  through 
the  quivering  flesh,  would  please  Diana.  Are  you  ad- 
miring the  wealth,  or  the  polish  of  the  Carthaginians  1 
They  believe  sincerely,  (so  sincerely  that  they  would 
perform  it,)  that  it  would  please  God  if  one  or  two 
hundred  of  their  children  at  a  time  were  cast  into  that 
red-hot  metallic  statue.  Just  such  things  were  believed 
by  Romans,  Medes,  Elamites,  and  all  people  where  that 
singular  old  book  did  not  circulate.  Reader,  if  you  be* 
lieve  that  reason  did  always  teach  to  avoid  these  cruel 
enormities  where  the  Bible  was  found,  but  never  did 
happen  to  instruct  better  where  that  page  was  not,  then 
we  have  no  farther  argument  with  you  at  the  present." 
(p.  101.) 

Here  it  is  supposed  that  where  the  Bible  is  not,  "  rea- 
son teaches"  and  "  instructs"  mankind,   and   always 

(60) 


AN  OBJECTION  ANSWERED.  61 

leads  them  wrong  ;  and  that  there  is  no  way  for  them 
to  find  the  truth,  but  to  forsake  reason  and  follow  the 
Bible.  For  if  they  lead  to  essentially  opposite  results, 
they  can  never  co-operate.  How  does  a  man  follow 
the  teachings  of  reason,  but  by  a  candid  exercise  of 
his  thinking  faculties,  in  judging  according  to  the  evi- 
dence presented  to  his  understanding  ?  When  "  the 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,"  does  not  a  man 
follow  reason,  by  giving  a  candid  attention  to  the  de- 
claration 1  It  is  God  that  furnishes  the  instruction,  and 
for  us  to  devote  a  candid  attention  to  it,  is  to  follow  our 
reason,  unless  it  can  be  made  appear  that  to  regard  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  and  to  consider  the  operation  of  his 
hand,  is  an  unreasonable  exercise  of  our  faculties.  Will 
such  an  attention  to  the  voice  of  God  in  nature,  always, 
and  of  necessity,  lead  the  minds  of  men  into  delusion  1 
It  is  presumed  there  are  few  who  will  venture  to  affirm 
this.  It  may  be  said,  perhaps,  that  men  go  astray  be- 
cause they  are  not  attentive  and  candid  in  surveying 
God's  visible  creation.  Then  they  do  not  follow  the 
teachings  of  reason,  but  the  dictates  of  prejudice  and 
passion ;  for  it  is  presumed  no  one  will  undertake  to 
show  that  when  a  man  is  inattentive  and  uncandid,  he 
thereby  evinces  a  reasonable  exercise  of  his  under- 
standing. 

Again:  when  men  attentively  and  candidly  search 

the  Scriptures,  to  ascertain  what  are  the  instructions 

of  God  in  his  word,  are  they  not  then  following  their 

reason,  as  much  as  they  are  when  in  the  same  way 

6 


62  AN  OBJECTION  ANSWERED. 

they  meditate  upon  all  his  works  ?  Mr.  Nelson's  whole 
book  is  intended  to  furnish  arguments  with  which  to 
convince  men  that  they  should  believe  the  Bible.  Does 
he  not  wish  them  to  give  these  arguments  a  fair  exami- 
nation ?  But  this  would  be  to  follow  reason,  unless  it 
be  said  that  such  an  attention  to  argument  is  an  unrea- 
sonable thing.  Hence  it  is  obvious,  that  when  men 
consider  the  evidence  and  import  of  the  Bible,  they  fol- 
low reason  as  their  guide,  as  much  as  they  do  in  pro- 
perly studying  the  visible  works  of  God.  In  neither 
case  is  reason  the  source  of  evidence  or  instruction,  but 
only  the  recipient ;  and  in  both  cases  the  same  God  is 
the  teacher,  who  will  never  contradict  himself,  or  teach 
delusion  through  one  medium  of  communication  any 
more  than  through  the  other. 

Reason,  it  may  be  said,  is  too  weak  to  learn  any  thing 
of  God  in  the  works  of  creation.  But  it  is  the  same 
weak  reason  that  is  called  upon  to  receive  truth  from' 
the  Bible.  The  latter,  it  is  admitted,  furnishes  more  in- 
struction than  the  former:  but  is  reason  too  weak  to 
learn  a  small  lesson,  and  at  the  same  time  strong  enough 
to  master  a  greater  one  1  The  only  reply  that  can  be 
given  to  this,  is,  that  the  instructions  of  God  in  nature 
are  not  so  intelligible  as  in  revelation.  They  are  suffi- 
ciently intelligible  to  lead  the  attentive  and  candid  mind 
into  the  truth ;  otherwise  it  will  follow,  either  that  in  the 
works  of  creation  God  did  not  design  to  communicate 
truth  to  man  concerning  himself,  or  that  he  could  not 
make  himself  understood  by  those  whose  mental  facul- 


AN  OBJECTION  ANSWERED.  63 

ties  were  formed  by  him  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
his  instructions. 

But  all  theory,  we  shall  be  told,  must  surrender  to 
facts.  "  Romans,  Medes,  Elamites,  and  all  people  where 
that  singular  old  book  did  not  circulate,  believe  sincerely 
that  it  would  please  God  if  one  or  two  hundred  of  their 
children  at  a  time,  were  cast  into  that  red-hot  metallic 
statue." 

Without  stopping  at  present  to  demand  proof  that 
"  all  people  where  that  singular  old  book  did  not  circu- 
late," actually  embraced  these  delusive  enormities,  we 
would  be  glad  to  have  an  answer  to  the  following  ques- 
tions :  First,  did  the  voice  of  God  in  nature  ever  teach 
people  that  it  would  please  him  "  if  one  or  two  hundred 
of  their  children  at  a  time  were  cast  into  that  red-hot 
metallic  statue  V  Secondly,  if  it  did  not,  were  any  peo- 
ple ever  led  into  such  a  barbarous  delusion  by  attentively 
and  candidly  surveying  the  works  of  nature,  to  the  best 
of  their  ability  ?  Thirdly,  would  it  not  be  reasonable 
for  people  every  where  so  to  attend  to  the  instructions 
of  God  in  his  works,  as  to  avoid  such  evil  practices  ? 
If  it  would,  it  then  appears  that  men  have  been  led  into 
such  practices,  not  by  following  their  reason,  but  by 
departing  from  its  dictates.  As  they  did  not  like  to  re- 
tain God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a 
reprobate  mind.     (Rom.  i.  28.) 

If  such  facts  prove  the  inadequacy  of  human  reason, 
or  the  deficiency  of  the  instructions  of  God  in  nature, 
similar  facts  will  equally  prove  the  deficiency  of  the 


64  AN  OBJECTION  ANSWERED. 

Bible.  When  heretics  were  burnt  by  scores  and  hun- 
dreds at  the  stake,  the  rulers  of  the  church  called  it 
"  an  act  of  faith,"  and  said  they  did  God  service,  and 
were  led  into  this  barbarous  conduct  by  the  instructions 
of  the  Bible.  This  is  as  easily  proved,  as  it  is  that  any 
heathen  under  heaven  was  ever  led  into  the  practice  of 
like  barbarities  by  an  attentive  and  candid  examination 
of  the  teachings  of  God  in  nature : — that  is,  by  follow- 
ing his  reason.  Men  are  led  into  those  enormities  by 
following  the  dictates  of  pride,  passion,  superstition  and 
malignity,  whether  they  live  in  Christian  or  in  Heathen 
lands. 

But,  to  come  to  Protestant  Christendom :  have  not 
men  been  telling  us  for  more  than  two  hundred  years, 
that  the  Bible  has  taught  them  to  believe  that  God  from 
all  eternity  elected  a  few  of  mankind  to  salvation,  and 
reprobated  all  the  rest  to  damnation,  in  such  a  way  as 
to  make  the  number  of  each  absolutely  definite,  and 
their  fate  eternally  unalterable  ?  Do  they  not  profess 
to  have  been  taught  by  the  Bible,  that  there  are  elect 
and  reprobate  angels,  and  elect  and  reprobate  infants  1 
Now  if  men  believe  there  are  infants  in  hell  not  a  span 
long,  who  were  ordained  to  endless  misery  from  ever- 
lasting, what  character  of  God  is  conceived  by  any 
Heathen,  which  is  more  directly  calculated  than  is  this 
doctrine,  to  support  the  inference  "  That  it  would  please 
God  if  one  or  two  hundred  of  their  children  at  a  time 
were  cast  into  that  red-hot  metallic  statue?"  The 
thing  which  we  contend  for  is,  that  neither  the  Bible 


AN  OBJECTION  ANSWERED.  65 

nor  the  Creation  exhibits  such  a  gloomy  character  of 
God ;  and  therefore  that  neither  of  them  gives  coun- 
tenance to  the  conclusion,  that  barbarous  practices  will 
be  pleasing  in  his  sight.  Such  practices  are  appealed 
to  as  facts  which  show  the  weakness  of  human  reason  ; 
but  they  only  evince  the  stupidity  of  wilful  ignorance, 
and  the  inexcusable  indulgence  of  human  passion  and 
malignity. 

We  are  told,  however,  that  Heathens  are  "sincere" 
in  their  belief,  that  God  is  pleased  with  such  cruel  prac- 
tices. And  were  not  both  the  priests  and  people  in 
Christendom  "  sincere"  in  their  belief  that  God  was 
pleased  when  he  saw  heretics  burnt  at  the  stake  ?  Was 
not  Saul  of  Tarsus  sincere  when  he  breathed  out 
threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples?.  He 
says  "  I  verily  thought  that  I  ought  to  do  many  things 
contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  But  does 
it  therefore  follow,  that  he  was  taught  to  be  a  perse- 
cutor by  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  ?  As 
little  does  it  follow,  that  Heathens  are  taught  to  burn 
their  children  in  the  fire,  by  the  voice  of  God-  in  na- 
ture, because  they  may  be  sincere  in  their  delusions. 

Are  we  left  to  infer,  that  all  Heathens,  however  sin- 
cere some  of  them  may  be,  are  indiscriminately  sent 
into  hell  1  What !  do  they  regularly  follow  their  rea- 
son, and  are  they  led  into  delusion  by  the  best  possible 
use  of  their  faculties,  and  then  eternally  punished  be- 
cause they  had  not  other  faculties,  or  did  not  possess 
higher  means  of  information  !  Saul  of  Tarsus  obtained 
6*  c* 


66  AN  OBJECTION  ANSWERED. 

mercy,  because  he  did  it  ignorantly  in  unbelief.  Why 
may  not  sincere  Heathens  obtain  mercy  upon  the  same 
footing '(  Saul  had  no  new  Bible  given  to  put  him  into 
a  state  of  probation.  But  God,  it  may  be  said,  used 
special  means  to  enlighten  his  mind,  because  he  saw 
that  he  was  sincere.  And  cannot  the  same  God  use 
special  means  to  enlighten  Heathens,  so  far  as  may  be 
necessary  to  their  salvation,  whenever  he  sees  them 
truly  and  perseveringly  sincere?  If  he  can  but  will 
not,  it  is  because  free  wrath,  or  a  reprobating  disposi- 
tion, is  an  essential  part  of  his  character ;  and  if  he  would 
but  cannot  save  the  Heathens  while  there  are  no  Bibles 
among  them,  it  follows  that  he  is  dependent  on  the 
agency  of  our  missionaries,  for  his  ability  to  save  the 
souls  of  sincere  people. 

Good  men  are  greatly  mistaken,  when  they  suppose 
infidelity  will  be  refuted  by  our  undervaluing  the  works 
of  God.  It  is  the  same  human  reason  that  operates, 
whether  it  be  used  in  examining  the  works  or  the  writ- 
ten  word  of  God ;  and  if  reason  be  set  aside,  to  what 
purpose  is  a  Bible  given  ?  As  well  might  a  revelation 
be  given  to  the  irrational  animals,  as  to  creatures  whose 
reason  necessarily  leads  them  astray.  When  God  com- 
municates his  truth  to  us,  whether  in  nature  or  revela- 
tion, our  belief  of  his  testimony  is  a  reasonable  faith, 
and  obedience  to  his  precepts  is  our  reasonable  service. 

For  what  is  the  variety  of  convincing  evidence 
brought  forward  by  Mr.  Nelson,  but  to  show  us  that 
reason  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  Bible  is  true? 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  67 

Then  why  should  we  inconsistently  weaken  the  force 
of  reason,  by  attempting  to  show  its  imbecility,  its  un- 
certainty, its  darkness,  and  its  leading  thousands  and 
millions  into  inevitable  delusion  ?  If  it  be  thus  weak, 
imbecile,  uncertain,  dark  and  delusive,  how  can  it  be 
depended  on  to  prove  the  truth  of  Christianity  ?  If  rea- 
son be  a  false  guide,  let  us  no  longer  appeal  to  its  dic- 
tates for  the  refutation  of  infidelity. 

That  our  understanding  is  weak,  and  liable  to  run 
into  delusions,  is  as  true  when  we  use  it  in  searching 
the  scriptures,  as  when  we  attend  to  the  voice  of  God 
in  nature ;  and  a  due  sense  of  this  weakness,  and  a  cor- 
responding modesty  in  our  conclusions,  is  essential  to 
the  right  exercise  of  our  reason,  whether  it  be  applied 
to  the  works  of  our  Creator,  or  to  his  written  revelation. 
We  shall  enter  more  fully  into  the  argument,  in  regard 
to  Heathen  salvation,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  trea- 
tise. 


SECTION  VI. 

The  greatness  of  God  must  be  taken  into  view,  in  the 
illustration  of  his  goodness. 

The  design  of  introducing  God's  greatness,  in  the 
investigation  of  his  goodness,  is  to  excite  the  modest 
consideration,  that  the  vastness  of  his  plans,  and  the 
extent  of  his  superintendency,  may  require  a  course  of 


68  GREATNESS  OF  GOD, 

measures  which,  though  perfectly  wise  and  just,  may 
not  appear  so  to  limited  creatures  in  one  corner  of  his 
Creation,  who  cannot  take  an  adeaxuate  survey  of  the 
whole ;  therefore  particular  events  which  seem  to  us 
unwise  or  cruel,  in  a  system  so  extensive,  ought  to  have 
no  weight  against  the  amount  of  positive  evidence  we 
have  of  our  Creator's  rectitude  and  benevolence.  In 
this  view,  therefore,  the  subject  of  the  present  section 
will  be  seen  to  be  no  improper  digression  from  the 
theme  before  us. 

In  viewing  the  vast  and  infinite  Majesty  of  the  God- 
head, our  attention  is  first  called  to  his  eternity  and  im- 
mensity. It  is  said  the  heaven,  and  heaven  of  heavens, 
cannot  contain  him ;  and  he  calls  himself  The  high  and 
lofty  One  that  inhabitcth  eternity.  Here  we  approach  a 
vast  ocean ;  for  eternity  is  a  great  deep  which  is  un- 
fathomable by  our  powers  of  conception. 

"  The  schoolmen,"  says  Dr.  Reid,  "  made  eternity  to 
be  a  nunc  stans,  that  is,  a  moment  of  time  that  stands 
still.  This  was  to  put  a  spoke  into  the  wheel  of  time, 
and  might  give  satisfaction  to  those  who  are  to  be  satis- 
fied by  words  without  meaning.  But  I  can  as  easily 
believe  a  circle  to  be  a  square,  as  time  to  stand  still." 
(Essay  on  Duration.) 

Men  in  modern  ages  also,  from  the  difficulty  of  com- 
prehending an  eternal  progression,  have  adopted  the 
"  nunc  stans"  of  the  schoolmen,  and  have  attempted  to 
illustrate  the  matter  by  speaking  of  God's  still  eternity. 
They  say  infinite  duration  is  an  eternal  now,  in  which 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  69 

there  is  no  succession ;  that  it  is  a  single  immoveable 
point ; — that  is,  "  a  moment  of  time  that  stands  still." 
And  yet  this  unsuccessive  moment  is  so  long,  that  it 
comprehends  the  entire  duration  of  the  world,  from  the 
first  day  of  Adam's  life,  down  to  the  general  conflagra- 
tion! 

"  On  this  subject  of  the  eternal  duration  of  the  Di- 
vine Being,"  says  the  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  "  many 
have  held  a  metaphysical  refinement.  The  eternal  ex- 
istence of  God,  it  is  said,  is  not  to  be  considered  as 
successive ;  with  him  eternity  is  nunc  stans,  a  perma- 
nent now,  incapable  of  the  relations  of  past,  present, 
and  future.  Such,  certainly,  is  not  the  view  given  us 
in  the  Scriptures.  Filling  duration  with  his  eternity,  is 
a  phrase  without  any  meaning  :  for  how  can  any  man 
conceive  a  permanent  instant,  which  co-exists  with  a 
perpetually  flowing  duration  ?  One  might  as  well  ap- 
prehend a  mathematical  point  co-extended  with  a  line, 
a  surface,  and  all  dimensions.  We  can  conceive  no 
otherwise  of  duration,  than  continuance  of  being ; — of 
this  every  man's  consciousness  will  assure  him,  that  we 
can  form  no  idea  of  duration  except  in  this  successive 
manner.  But  we  are  told,  that  the  eternity  of  God  is 
a  fixed  eternal  now,  from  which  all  ideas  of  succession, 
of  past  and  future,  are  to  be  excluded ;  and  we  are 
called  upon  to  conceive  of  eternal  duration,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  idea  of  that  floiv  under  which  we  con- 
ceive of  time.  Duration,  as  applied  to  God,  is  no  more 
than  an  extension  of  the  idea  as  applied  to  ourselves ; 


70  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

and  to  exhort  us  to  conceive  of  it  as  something  essen- 
tially different,  is  to  require  us  to  conceive  what  is  in- 
conceivable. It  is  to  demand  of  us  to  think  without 
ideas."  (Institutes,  p.  181.) 

Mr.  Watson  continues  the  argument  at  some  length, 
and  concludes :  "  Minutes  and  moments  may  be  arti- 
ficial, adopted  to  aid  our  conceptions  ;  but  conceptions 
of  what  ?  Not  of  any  thing  standing  still,  but  of  some- 
thing going  on.  If  the  duration  of  the  Divine  Being 
admits  not  of  past,  present,  and  future,  one  of  these 
two  consequences  must  follow, — that  no  such  attribute 
as  that  of  eternity  belongs  to  Him, — or  that  there  is  no 
power  in  the  human  mind  to  conceive  of  it.  In  either 
case  the  Scriptures  are  greatly  impugned ;  for  "  He 
who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come,"  is  a  revelation  of  the 
eternity  of  God,  which  is  then  in  no  sense  true."  (p.  182.) 

To  say  eternity  is  a  "  nunc  stans"  without  advance- 
ment, is  like  saying  immensity  is  a  point,  without  exten- 
sion. It  is  true  of  time,  as  it  is  of  space,  that  the  whole 
cannot  be  measured ;  and  yet  the  parts  every  where 
are  equally  and  alike  subject  to  measurement.  As  the 
parts  of  space  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  universe, 
though, they  have  not  been  measured,  are  yet  in  their 
own  nature  as  susceptible  of  it  as  the  parts  within  its 
bounds ;  so  the  parts  of  duration,  at  any  point  before 
the  world  was  made,  were  in  their  own  nature  as  sus- 
ceptible of  measurement,  as  time  present  or  future. 

It  is  true  of  space,  that  it  necessarily  and  eternally 
stands  still,  and  it  is  impossible  for  it  to  move ;  it  is  ex- 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  71 

actly  as  true  of  time,  that  it  necessarily  advances,  and 
it  is  impossible  for  it  to  stand  still.  As  well  might  we 
be  called  upon  to  believe  in  moveable  space,  as  in  unsuc- 
cessive  duration.  As  well  might  it  be  affirmed,  that 
immensity  has  no  extension,  as  that  eternity  is  without 
advancement,  or  is  something  different  from  a  continu- 
ance of  time.  It  is  true  that  the  progress  of  time  with- 
out beginning,  is  inconceivable;  but  for  it  to  have  a 
beginning  is  not  only  inconceivable,  but  impossible. 
The  following  is  an  exact  parallel :  For  space  to  ex- 
tend without  boundaries,  is  inconceivable  ;  for  it  to  have 
boundaries,  is  impossible.  It  only  remains,  then,  for  us 
to  choose  whether  we  will  receive  that  for  a  truth,  which 
is  inconceivable ;  or  that  which  is  impossible.  To  say 
God  created  successive  duration,  is  like  saying  he  cre- 
ated measurable  expansion :  which  implies,  that  in  his 
eternity  there  was  no  time,  and  in  his  immensity  there 
was  no  space ! 

If  successive  duration  belong  not  to  the  Almighty,  if 
with  him  there  be  no  future,  how  can  he  have  the  hap- 
piness of  anticipation  and  prospect?  If  past,  present, 
and  to  come,  belong  not  to  his  duration,  it  will  follow, 
that  for  him  to  foretell  what  he  will  do,  and  actually  to 
perform  it,  are  the  same  thing,  and  done  at  the  same 
timen  It  will  follow,  that  his  act  in  creating  the  world, 
was  not  prior  to  his  act  in  drowning  it  by  the  waters 
of  the  Deluge ;  and  that  with  him  the  creation  of  the 
world  is  not  a.  past  event,  and  the  day  of  judgment  is 
not  future.     If  any  man  can  admit  all  these  conclusions, 


72  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

he  must  surely  be  as  metaphysical  as  the  schoolmen 
were,  when  with  a  "  nunc  stans"  they  attempted  to  put 
a  spoke  into  the  wheel  of  time. 

Another  attribute  constituting  the  greatness  of  the 
Deity,  is  his  Almighty  Power.  By  this  we  mean  his 
ability  to  do  any  thing  which  it  is  possible  for  agency 
to  do.  The  bounds  of  possibility  are  known  only  to 
himself;  but  to  some  extent  we  are  able  distinctly  to 
conceive  them.  It  is  not  possible,  for  example,  that 
power  should  put  an  end  to  duration,  or  limit  the  infinity 
of  space.  It  is  not  possible  for  power  to  remove  matter 
from  one  point  of  space  to  another,  without  taking  it 
through  the  intermediate  parts,  either  in  a  straight  line, 
or  by  some  circuit.  It  is  not  possible  for  power  to 
transform  virtue  into  vice,  or  truth  into  falsehood ;  or  in 
other  words,  to  destroy  the  distinction  between  right 
and  wrong.  But  in  most  instances  the  bounds  of  possi- 
bility are  known  only  by  our  Maker ;  and  we  are  liable 
to  suppose  many  things  to  be  in  their  nature  possible, 
which  he  knows  to  be  impossible,  and  the  contrary. 

To  say  God  has  Almighty  Power,  is  to  say,  in  other 
words,  that  he  is  an  Almighty  Agent.  He  who  does 
any  thing  without  agency,  does  it  by  necessity,  which 
is  not  power,  but  the  want  of  it.  Whenever  an  agent 
acts,  he  could,  at  the  same  time,  have  omitted  the  ac- 
tion; and  therefore  He  who  possesses  the  greatest 
power,  enjoys  the  most  perfect  liberty  of  any  being  in 
existence.  Hence  it  follows,  that  God  is  immutable 
because  he  chooses  to  be  so :  and  those  who  believe  he 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  73 

is  immutable  of  necessity,  or  because  he  cannot  help  it, 
manifestly  suppose  him  to  have  no  power  at  all.  When 
God  created  the  world,  he  could  have  omitted  it,  other- 
wise the  world  was  created  by  necessity,  and  not  by 
power.  Is  not  the  latter  conclusion  atheism  ?  The  rea- 
son why  God  cannot  do  wrong,  is  precisely  that  he  will 
not ;  and  his  happiness  and  glory  consist,  not  merely  in 
doing  right,  but  in  doing  it  freely.  What  happiness  or 
glory  would  arise  from  doing  right  by  necessity  1  A 
clock,  or  a  watch,  or  a  steam-boat,  does  right  in  this 
way,  and  in  no  other.  An  apprehension  may  be  enter- 
tained, however,  that  if  God  be  thus/ree,  our  happiness 
is  not  secure  under  his  government ;  but  let  us  reflect, 
whether  we  are  not  more  safe  under  the  protection  of 
an  Almighty  Agency,  directed  by  infinite  wisdom  and 
benevolence,  than  we  would  be  under  the  operation  of 
necessity,  which  cannot  be  modified  in  its  course  by 
either  wisdom  or  goodness.  To  what  purpose  would  a 
being  who  is  destitute  of  agency  possess  wisdom  ?  And 
what  would  it  avail  for  him  to  have  a  benevolent  inten- 
tion, when  his  whole  course  must  be  fixed  and  inevita- 
ble, independently  of  such  intention  ?  There  is,  in  short, 
no  other  alternative  but  to  believe  either  that  God  is  a 
perfectly  Free  Agent,,  or  to  embrace  a  system  of  athe- 
ism. An  intelligent  being  without  agency,  that  is,  with- 
out power,  however  good  in  his  disposition,  and  how- 
ever clear  in  his  intelligence,  could  do  nothing ;  and  his 
understanding  could  serve  no  other  purpose  than  to  gaze 
at  the  course  of  necessity,  as  a  man  bound  down  with 
7  d 


74  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

a  chain  might  look  up  and  watch  the  course  of  the  wind 
and  the  clouds. 

The  energy  of  Divine  power  fills  us  with  amazement; 
and  yet  the  full  extent  of  it  can  only  be  known  by  the 
Almighty  himself.  "  He  stretcheth  out  the  north  over 
the  empty  place,  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing. 
He  bindeth  up  the  waters  in  his  thick  clouds ;  and  the 
cloud  is  not  rent  under  them.  He  compassed  the  wa- 
ters with  bounds,  until  the  day  and  night  come  to  an 
end.  The  pillars  of  heaven  tremble,  and  are  astonished 
at  his  reproof.  He  divideth  the  sea  with  his  power, 
and  by  his  understanding  he  smiteth  through  the  proud. 
Lo,  these  are  parts  of  his  ways ;  but  how  little  a  portion 
is  heard  of  him  !"  (Job  xxvi.  7.)  "  Who  hath  measured 
the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  meted  out 
heaven  with  the  span,  and  comprehended  the  dust  of 
the  earth  in  a  measure,  and  weighed  the  mountains  in 
scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance  ?  Behold,  he  taketh 
up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing.  Hast  thou  not  heard, 
that  the  everlasting  God,  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  fainteth  not,  neither  is  weary?  There  is  no 
searching  of  his  understanding.  He  giveth  power  to 
the  faint ;  and  to  them  that  have  no  might  he  increaseth 
strength."     (Isa.  xl.  12—28.) 

The  intelligence  of  the  Supreme  Being  is  equally 
wonderful.  He  not  only  understands  the  hidden  quali- 
ties of  all  material  substances ;  but  surveys,  at  once,  and 
without  any  confusion  or  perplexity,  the  secret  thoughts 
of  all  human  and  angelic  minds,  throughout  the  whole 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  75 

extent  of  the  universe !  "  There  is  no  darkness  nor 
shadow  of  death,  where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may 
hide  themselves."  (Job  xxxiv.  22.)  A  Mind  capable 
of  such  a  vast  survey,  may  well  be  said  to  be  wonderful 
in  counsel;  and  our  little  finite  spirits  are  as  effectually 
overwhelmed  in  the  contemplation  of  such  an  Intelli- 
gence, as  we  are  in  attempting  to  grasp  Eternity  or 
Immensity. 

It  is  delightful,  however,  to  understand,  that  in  the 
operation  of  all  those  mighty  attributes,  infinite  goodness 
is  at  the  centre.  Love  reigns  supreme,  uncontrolled, 
immutable,  immense,  and  eternal.  Eternity  affords  the 
time  for  its  action,  and  immensity  the  theatre;  wisdom 
forms  the  plan  of  benevolence,  power  carries  it  into 
effect,  truth  displays  it,  and  justice  defends  it.  In  all 
this  there  is  a  harmony  more  perfect  and  complete,  than 
is  even  exhibited  in  the  serene  and  untroubled  move- 
ments of  the  stars  and  suns  and  planets  of  the  material 
heavens  ;  and  as  soon  will  Jupiter  fall  into  the  Sun,  or 
the  Moon  be  dashed  against  the  Earth,  as  justice  will 
contradict  mercy,  or  counteract  any  other  perfection  of 
the  universal  Ruler.  The  greatness  of  God  should  make 
us  modest  in  our  conclusions,  and  not  so  immodest  as  to 
believe  He  is  too  great  a  sovereign  to  be  righteous  and 
benevolent  in  all  his  actions. 

"  Moral  government,"  says  Dr.  Dwight,  "  is  a  go- 
vernment of  laws ;  whose  nature,  and  actions,  are  the 
great  inducements  to  obedience,  and  the  great  means 


76  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

of  order,  peace,  and  happiness,  to  subjects ;  and  of 
honour  and  reverence  to  the  Ruler. 

"  To  the  existence  of  such  a  government  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  that  the  character  of  the  Ruler  should 
be  such,  as  that  it  can,  and  ought  to,  be  approved  by 
wise  and  good  subjects ;  and  of  course  a  character,  in 
which  they  can  safely,  and  rationally,  confide.  But  it 
is  impossible,  that  a  ruler,  unpossessed  of  Truth,  should 
be  approved  at  all.  Falsehood  is  a  vice,  involving  every 
other  kind  of  turpitude.  A  liar  is  pre-eminently  odious 
and  contemptible  in  the  view  of  mankind ;  and  the 
finished  depravity  of  the  worst  of  all  beings  is  exhibited 
to  us  by  God  himself  in  the  memorable  declaration, 
He  was  a  liar  from  the  beginning,  and  the  father  of  it. 
A  God  of  falsehood  would  be  a  monster,  whose  de- 
pravity no  mind,  less  than  infinite,  could  comprehend ; 
and  who  would  of  necessity  be  regarded  with  absolute 
detestation  and  horror."  (Vol.  I.  p.  209.) 

Now  can  any  man  tell  us  how  Dr.  D wight  could  say 
all  this,  on  supposition  that  God,  as  a  sovereign,  can 
make,  and  alter,  the  principles  of  virtue  at  will,  so  that 
if  He  should  determine  or  decree  that  a  character  of 
falsehood  should  be  established  as  virtuous,  and  the 
character  of  truth  and  sincerity  as  vicious,  their  na- 
tures, respectively,  would  be  changed  \  According  to 
the  above  quotation,  a  God  who  should  allow  himself  to 
be  influenced  by  bad  principles  of  action,  "  would  be  a 
monster  of  depravity,"  without  a  parallel,  and  "  would 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  77 

of  necessity  be  regarded  with  absolute  detestation  and 
horror." 

For  the  Divine  government  to  produce  either  virtue 
or  happiness,  "  it  is  absolutely  necessary,"  the  Doctor 
tells  us,  "  that  the  character  of  the  Ruler  should  be 
such,  as  that  it  can  be  approved  by  wise  and  good  sub- 
jects ;  and  of  course  a  character,  in  which  they  can 
safely,  and  rationally,  confide."  But  how  can  they 
"  confide"  in  it,  and  do  this  "  rationally,"  if  they  believe 
there  are  attributes  in  that  character  which  contradict 
each  other  1  Must  not  that  be  vice  which  contradicts 
virtue  ?  Is  there  any  thing,  except  something  bad, 
which  contradicts  goodness  ?  If  not,  then  there  is  no 
manner  of  inconsistency  between  justice  and  mercy, 
unless  one  or  the  other  of  them  is  a  bad  thing,  and  con- 
sequently a  species  of  "  depravity."  There  is  nothing 
of  this  nature  in  the  holy  Mind  of  the  Almighty;  and 
therefore  there  is  no  imperfection,  and  no  conflict,  in  his 
providence,  in  his  law,  or  in  its  administration. 

Yet  a  government  so  extensive  in  its  influence  and 
operation,  sustaining  the  interests  of  distant  worlds,  and 
embracing  the  circumstances  and  diversified  capacities 
of  all  orders  of  intelligent  beings,  may  be,  in  many  of 
its  details,  entirely  beyond  our  comprehension.  Even 
the  ruler  of  an  earthly  empire  may  sometimes  be 
thought  to  be  a  fool  or  a  tyrant,  on  account  of  certain 
official  acts  which  he  knows  to  be  essential  to  the  com- 
mon welfare,  but  which  others,  not  standing  where  he 
does,  and  seeing  only  a  small  part » of  the  system,  view 


78  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

as  unnecessary  or  unjust.  What  matter  of  surprise 
should  it  be,  then,  if  such  events  should  appear  in  the 
vast  administration  of  that  Being  who  balances  the 
planets,  and  who  "  holds  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of 
his  hand  1 "  "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ? 
Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  It 
is  high  as  heaven ;  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper  than 
hell ;  what  canst  thou  know  1 "  (Job,  xi.  7.) 

"  Perfect  and  unerring  wisdom,"  says  Sherlock,  "  has 
no  superior  wisdom  to  take  an  account,  or  to  judge  of 
its  actions  ;  nothing  can  judge  of  wisdom,  but  wisdom ; 
and  an  inferior  cannot  comprehend  a  superior  wisdom ; 
especially  when  there  is  such  a  vast  disproportion  as 
there  is  between  a  finite  and  an  infinite  understanding ; 
which  must  of  necessity  in  a  thousand  instances  make 
the  judgments  of  God  unsearchable,  and  his  ways  past 
finding  out :  it  neither  becomes  the  infinite  wisdom  of 
God  in  all  cases  to  give  an  account  of  his  actions,  nor 
the  modesty  of  creatures  to  demand  it."  (p.  86.)  The 
same  judicious  author  says  again,  "  Would  not  any  wise 
man  rather  choose  to  be  governed  by  such  a  perfect 
and  excellent  wisdom,  as  can  never  mistake,  though  it 
vastly  exceeds  his  understanding,  than  to  be  governed 
by  a  being  no  wiser,  or  not  much  wiser  than  himself, 
all  whose  counsels  he  can  fathom,  and  see  to  the  end 
of  ?  It  is  great  pride,  and  as  contemptible  folly,  to  think 
that  God  should  not  be  able  to  do  things  above  our  un- 
derstanding, and  to  do  them  very  wisely  too,  though  we 
do  not  understand  them.   It  is  certain  that  there  are  ten 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  79 

thousand  things  both  in  the  Works  of  nature  and  Provi- 
dence, which  no  man  fully  understands,  and  yet  which 
bear  the  marks  and  signatures  of  a  most  Divine  and 
admirable  art  and  wisdom.  Which  is  most  reasonable, 
to  attribute  such  works  to  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God  ; 
or  to  deny  that  they  had  any  wise  Cause,  because  we 
cannot  find  them  out,  though  we  can  discern  such  wis- 
dom in  them,  as  no  human  art  or  wisdom  can  imitate." 
(p.  103.)  Once  more :  "  No  being  can  know  how  to 
govern  a  world,  who  does  not  know  how  to  make  it  ; 
and  any  other  must  be  a  very  unfit  judge  of  the  wisdom 
of  Providence  ;  for  he  can  never  know  when  the  world 
is  well  and  wisely  governed,  because  he  does  not  know 
what  belongs  to  the  government  of  the  world.  The 
wise  government  of  all  creatures  must  be  proportioned 
to  their  natures ;  and  therefore  without  understanding 
the  philosophy  of  nature,  the  springs  of  motion,  the 
mutual  dependence  of  causes  and  effects,  what  end 
things  are  made  for,  and  what  uses  they  serve,  we  can 
never  know  what  is  fit  to  be  done,  nor  what  can  be 
done,  or  by  what  means  it  is  to  be  done,  and  then  can 
never  tell  when  any  thing  is  done  as  it  should  be."  (p. 
106.) 

Mr.  Sherlock  further  illustrates  the  argument,  by  the 
history  of  Job  :  "  The  story  of  Job's  afflictions  strikes 
terror  and  astonishment  into  all  that  hear  them  :  Job 
himself  knew  not  what  account  to  give  of  his  suffer- 
ing ;  and  we  should  have  been  as  much  puzzled  with  it 
to  this  day,  had  we  not  been  acquainted  with  the  rea- 


80  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

son  of  his  suffering,  and  with  that  long  and  great  pros- 
perity wherewith  God  rewarded  his  faith  and  patience ; 
and  now  no  man  thinks  the  sufferings  of  Job  any  diffi- 
culty in  Providence,  much  less  any  objection  against  it. 
Thus  it  is  with  reference  to  other  men ;  when  we  see 
only  a  scene  or  two  of  their  lives,  we  meet  with  such 
prosperous  or  adverse  events,  as  we  cannot  account 
for ;  but  could  we  see  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  in 
most  cases  the  Divine  Providence  would  justify  itself. 

"  But  then  the  hidden  and  mysterious  designs  of  Pro- 
vidence relating  to  Churches  and  Kingdoms,  which 
comprehend  so  many  great  and  wonderful  revolutions  ; 
— these,  and  such  like  events,  must  needs  be  very  ob- 
scure and  unknown  to  us,  who  know  not  what  God 
aims  at  in  all  this,  nor  what  designs  He  is  carrying  on. 
When  our  accounts  of  what  is  past  are  so  imperfect 
and  uncertain,  and  our  knowledge  of  what  is  to  come 
much  more  imperfect ;  when  we  know  so  little  of  our 
own  age,  of  our  own  country,  of  our  own  neighbour- 
hood, it  is  as  impossible  to  understand  the  reasons  of 
Providence,  as  it  is  to  understand  the  wise  contrivances 
and  design  of  a  Comedy,  by  reading  one  Act,  or,  it 
may  be,  but  one  Scene  of  that  Act."  (p.  131,  &c.) 

From  these  arguments  and  illustrations,  the  reader 
may  perceive  how  objections  against  the  goodness  of 
God  may  be  solved  by  a  just  view  of  his  greatness ; 
and  how  unreasonable  it  must  be  to  yield  to  any  de- 
gree of  scepticism,  on  account  of  our  incapacity  to 
understand  the  design  of  certain  events  occurring  under 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  81 

the  Divine  administration,  which  to  our  limited  view 
may  appear  obscure  and  unaccountable;  but  which, 
•  when  seen  in  their  essential  connection  with  the  whole 
moral  universe,  may  shine  forth  as  the  sunbeams  of 
infinite  wisdom,  rectitude,  and  benevolence. 

Three  of  the  general  scenes  of  Providence  which  are 
most  mysterious,  and  which  may  serve  to  illustrate  our 
present  subject,  are  the  following : 

1.  Some  time  after  the  earth  was  replenished  by  the 
descendants  of  Noah,  God  "  suffered  all  nations  to  walk 
in  their  own  ways,"  until  a  degrading  idolatry  was 
spread  over  the  earth,  accompanied  with  a  genera]  cor- 
ruption and  barbarity,  which  threatened  the  destruction 
of  all  virtue,  peace,  and  purity.  Prostitution  was  made 
a  part  of  their  religion;  and  many  little  children  were 
burnt  in  the  fire,  as  so  many  meritorious  offerings  to 
the  gods ! 

2.  After  the  gospel  was  spread  over  the  Roman  em- 
pire, its  ministers  and  professors  became  so  corrupt, 
that  they  introduced  the  dark  ages,  in  which  the  light 
of  heaven  appeared  almost  to  have  been  withdrawn 
from  the  earth  for  several  hundred  years.  Dens  of 
wickedness,  called  monasteries  and  nunneries,  were 
established  through  the  nations  of  Europe;  —  supersti- 
tion generated  corruption,  and  one  bloody  scene  of 
murder  followed  another,  until  the  silent  horrors  of  the 
Inquisition  were  fully  established,  which  held  all  Christ- 
endom in  the  stillness  of  death,  and  made  kings  bow 
submissively  to  the  sovereign  and  malignant  despotism 


82  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

of  him  who  was  called  "the  Vicar  of  Christ   upon 
earth." 

3.  Some  two  or  three  hundred  years  ago,  the  several ' 
nations  of  Europe  combined  their  energies  to  seize  upon 
the  defenceless  Africans,  in  order  to  carry  them  into 
hopeless  bondage ;  and  they  soon  established  a  horrid 
system  of  traffic  in  human  beings,  which  has  been  the 
means  of  hurrying  millions  to  a  premature  death,  either 
in  their  passage  across  the  ocean,  or  by  the  rigours  of 
oppression  which  they  endured,  after  arriving  at  the 
respective  places  of  their  melancholy  destination.  This 
bloody  tragedy  is  yet  in  progress ;  and  in  its  consum- 
mation it  will  probably  have  produced  as  much  misery 
as  resulted  either  from  the  barbarism  of  Pagan  idolatry, 
or  from  the  cold  and  unfeeling  malevolence  of  the  In- 
quisition. 

Now  the  matter  of  inquiry  which  puzzles  our  under- 
standing, is  this:  —  Why  should  that  holy  Being,  who 
has  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  suffer  such  shock- 
ing scenes  of  wickedness  and  misery  to  prevail  in  our 
world,  for  hundreds  of  years  together  1 

The  only  satisfactory  answer  to  this  question  is,  that 
the  infinite  mind  of  the  Almighty  does  not  view  these 
matters  by  themselves,  as  we  do,  but  in  their  connection 
with  the  vast  compass  of  the  intelligent  and  moral  uni- 
verse, and  with  the  succeeding  developements  of  a 
futurity  that  shall  have  no  end.  The  intelligent  inhab- 
itants of  other  worlds  may  be  looking  on,  and  learning 
from  these  facts  the  essential  nature  and  the  destructive 


GREATNESS  OF  GOD.  S3 

sesults  of  moral  evil.  Our  own  world  also,  in  its  future 
generations,  may  receive  effectual  admonition  by  this 
course  of  experience,  which  it  would  not  receive  in  any 
other  way.  It  would  now  be  a  very  difficult  matter  to 
establish  Pagan  idolatry  either  among  the  Jews,  or 
among  the  nations  of  Christendom.  The  lessons  of  ex- 
perience  which  mankind  have  had  upon  this  subject, 
will  prevent  a  repetition  of  those  abominations.  When 
the  Romish  power  shall  have  been  overthrown,  there  is 
no  probability  that  an  Inquisition  will  again  be  esta- 
blished to  the  end  of  time ;  because  the  horrors  of  the 
Inquisition  which  was  established  during  the  dark  ages, 
will  be  effectually  remembered,  and  this  remembrance 
will  restrain  the  passions  of  posterity.  Human  nature 
is  still  the  same ;  and,  were  it  not  for  the  admonitions 
furnished  by  the  past  history  of  the  world,  would  be 
ready  enough  to  play  the  same  game  over  again.  The 
course  of  Providence  in  dividing  Protestant  Christen- 
dom into  separate  balancing  denominations,  is  a  part 
of  the  same  wise  and  benevolent  scheme  of  our  hea- 
venly Father.  There  is  not  a  sect  among  us,  perhaps, 
that  would  not  be  as  bad  as  the  Papists  have  ever  been, 
wrere  it  not  for  the  lessons  of  experience,  and  the  checks 
furnished  by  the  power  and  influence  of  rival  denomi- 
nations. 

And  as  to  slavery  and  the  slave  trade,  Providence 
suffers  these  things  to  go  on,  and  to  arrive  at  their 
zenith,  that  a  thoughtless  world  may  learn  by  painful 
experience,  that  any  part  of  mankind,  by  tyrannically 


84  GREATNESS  OF  GOD. 

inflicting  misery  upon  another  part,  are  thereby  sapping 
the  foundations  of  their  own  best  interests,  both  for  time 
and  for  eternity. 

God  said  to  Abraham,  "  The  iniquity  of  the  Amorites 
is  not  yet  full."  He  suffers  wicked  nations  to  progress 
in  crime,  till  their  iniquity  is  full,  in  order  that  the  whole 
universe  may  see  what  a  diabolical  thing  sin  is,  when 
permitted  to  exhibit  the  whole  extent  of  its  deformity. 
For  this  reason  the  Supreme  Ruler  permits  the  Devil 
to  show  himself,  and  to  expose  to  the  public  gaze  of  the 
creation,  the  dark  and  horrid  malignity  there  is  in  his 
own  mind,  and  in  those  servants  of  his,  who  are  his 
greatest  proficients  in  the  several  systems  of  iniquity. 
All  this  is  suffered,  not  that  sin  may  be  patronized  and 
encouraged ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  may  be  con- 
demned to  eternal  infamy,  and  that  intelligent  creatures 
may  be  effectually  set  upon  their  guard  against  its  poi- 
sonous influence  and  destructive  ravages. 


PART    SECOND. 


DIRECT  EVIDENCE  OF  COD'S  BENEVOLENT 
CHARACTER. 


SECTION  I. 
Proofs  derived  from  the  self-sufficiency  of  God. 

The  Divine  character  which  we  purpose  to  sustain, 
is  given  by  Dr.  Dwight  in  the  following  words  :  "  God, 
when  he  intended  to  disclose  his  perfections  to  the  uni- 
verse, intended  to  exhibit  them,  chiefly,  by  an  endless 
course  of  action,  in  which  wisdom,  greatness,  and 
goodness,  should  be  supremely,  and  most  clearly,  dis- 
covered. The  highest  blessedness,  he  has  told  us,  and 
therefore  the  greatest  glory,  is  found  in  communicating 
good,  and  not  in  gaining  it ;  in  giving,  and  not  receiv- 
ing. To  this  decision  reason  necessarily  subjoins  her 
own  amen.  The  great  design  of  God  in  all  things  is, 
therefore,  to  do  good,  boundlessly,  and  for  ever ;  and  in 
this  conduct  to  disclose  himself,  as  the  boundless  and 
eternal  good."  (Theology.  Vol.  I.  p.  85.) 

8  (8S) 


86  THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD. 

Mr.  Watson  gives  a  quotation  from  Calvin,  which 
appears  to  assume  entirely  opposite  ground.  Mr.  Cal- 
vin's words  are,  "  How  exceedingly  presumptuous  it  is, 
to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  Divine  will;  wThich  is, 
in  fact,  and  is  justly  entitled  to  be,  the  cause  of  every 
thing  that  exists.  For  if  it  has  any  cause,  then  there 
must  be  something  antecedent  on  which  it  depends, 
which  it  is  impious  to  suppose.  For  the  will  of  God  is 
the  highest  rule  of  justice ;  so  that  what  he  wills  must 
be  just,  because  he  w7ills  it."  A  part  of  Mr.  Watson's 
reply  is  as  follows :  "  He  pretends  that  to  assign  any 
cause  to  the  Divine  will  is  to  suppose  something  ante- 
cedent to,  something  above  God,  and,  therefore,  '  im- 
pious ;'  as  if  we  might  not  suppose  something  in  God 
to  be  the  rule  of  his  will,  not  only  without  any  impiety, 
but  with  truth  and  piety ;  as,  for  instance,  his  perfect 
wisdom,  holiness,  justice,  and  goodness  :  or,  in  other 
words,  to  believe  the  exercise  of  his  will  to  flow  from 
the  perfection  of  his  whole  nature ;  a  much  more 
honourable  and  Scriptural  view  of  the  will  of  God  than 
that  which  subjects  it  to  no  rule,  even  in  the  nature  of  • 
God  himself.  This  will  is  our  rule,  because  we  know 
that  it  is  the  will  of  a  perfect  being ;  but  when  Calvin 
represents  mere  will  as  constituting  God's  own  rule  of 
justice,  he  shuts  out  knowledge,  discrimination  of  the 
nature  of  things,  and  holiness ;  which  is  saying  some- 
thing very  different  to  that  great  truth,  that  God  cannot 
will  any  thing  but  what  is  perfectly  just.  It  is  to  say 
that  blind  will,  will  which  has  no  respect  to  any  thing 


THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD.  87 

but  itself,  is  God's  highest  rule  of  justice  ;  a  position 
which,  if  presented  abstractedly,  many  of  the  most 
ultra  Calvinists  would  spurn."  (Institutes,  p.  511.) 

Indeed,  a  will  that  has  "  no  respect  to  any  thing  but 
itself"  is  supposed  to  make  its  own  veracity  and  benevo- 
lence, as  well  as  its  justice.  If  "  what  God  wills  must 
be  just,  because  he  wills  it,"  as  Calvin  says,  then  what 
he  wills  must  be  benevolent,  because  he  wills  it :  conse- 
quently, it  would  be  perfectly  benevolent  for  all  crea- 
tures to  commence  their  existence  in  eternal  punish- 
ment, provided  only  that  the  Divine  will  should  choose 
to  make  it  benevolent.  To  say  that  nonentity  is  better 
than  existence,  would  be  a  truth,  provided  the  Divine 
will  should  choose  to  make  it  a  truth ;  or  that  to  render 
evil'  for  good  would  be  justice,  provided  the  same  will 
should  determine  it  to  be  justice !  In  short,  if  our 
Maker's  character  is  essentially  good,  were  it  opposite 
to  what  it  is,  it  would  be  essentially  evil;  otherwise  we 
say  good  and  evil  are  not  necessarily  opposite  to  each 
other :  whence  it  would  follow,  that  the  character  of 
the  devil  may  have  in  it  no  opposition  to  that  of  the 
Deity ! 

Having  thus  stated  our  position,  in  regard  to  the  ab- 
solute rectitude,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  the  infinite 
and  uncompounded  benevolence  of  the  Almighty,  we 
proceed  to  examine  the  grounds  on  which  this  great 
truth  is  to  be  established.  Dr.  Dwight  says,  "  The  im- 
portance of  the  question,  Whether  God  is  a  Benevolent 
Being,  is  no  less  than  infinite.     Every  thing,  therefore, 


88  THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD. 

which  seriously  affects  it,  must  be  of  high  moment  to 
every  intelligent  creature."  (Theology.  Vol.  I.  p.  166.) 
Dr.  Dwight's  views  on  this  part  of  the  subject  are  so 
excellent,  that  I  shall  be  excused  in  giving  them  at  con- 
siderable length. 

"  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  observe,"  he  says, 
"that  the  question,  concerning  the  amount  of  the  evi- 
dence, which  reason  gives  concerning  this  doctrine,  has 
long  been,  and  is  still  disputed.  It  is  well  known,  that 
divines  and  other  Christians,  as  well  as  other  men,  differ 
in  their  opinions  about  it ;  and  that  the  proofs  of  the  di- 
vine benevolence  from  Reason  are  regarded  by  many 
persons  as  insufficient.  I  have  myself  entertained,  here- 
tofore, opinions  on  this  subject  different  from  those 
which  I  now  entertain.  As  I  have  not  seen  it  discussed 
in  such  a  manner  as  satisfied  my  own  wishes,  I  shall 
now  consider  it  with  more  particularitv,  than  might 
otherwise  be  necessary. 

"The  Self-existence,  Eternity,  Immutability,  Omni- 
presence, Omniscience,  and  Omnipotence,  of  God  have, 
I  flatter  myself,  been  clearly  proved  by  arguments  de- 
rived from  Reason.  From  these  attributes  it  has,  I 
trust,  been  unanswerably  evinced,  that  God  is  absolutely 
independent;  that  all  things,  which  can  be  done,  or 
enjoyed,  are  in  his  power  and  possession ;  and  that  he 
can  neither  need,  nor  receive  any  thing.  From  these 
considerations  it  is  evident  in  the 

"  1st  place,  That  God  can  have  no  possible  motive  to 
he  malevolent.     It  will  not  be  pretended,  that  the  nature 


THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD.  89 

of  things  can  furnish  any  such  motive.  That  to  be  ma- 
levolent is  a  more  desirable  character  or  state  of  being, 
than  to  be  benevolent,  cannot  be  asserted,  nor  believed. 
Nor  can  any  motive  to  this  character  be  presented  to 
God,  from  without  himself  ox  from  other  beings.  As  all 
other  beings,  together  with  every  thing  pertaining  to 
them,  are,  and  cannot  but  be,  just  what  he  pleases ;  it  is 
certain  that  he  can  gain  nothing  to  himself  by  the  exer- 
cise of  malevolence.  Finite  beings  may  discern  good 
in  the  hands  of  others,  which  they  may  covet,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  hindered  from  possessing,  unless  by 
the  indulgence  of  fraud,  injustice,  or  unkindness ;  or  by 
attacking,  and  injuring,  such,  as  prevent  from  gaining 
the  beloved  object.  Those  who  possess  it,  they  may 
envy,  or  hate.  Those  who  hinder  them  from  gaining 
it,  they  may  regard  with  resentment  or  anger.  But  it 
is  plain,  that  these  considerations  can  have  no  more 
application  to  God,  than  the  circumstances  which  give 
them  birth.  All  good  is  actually  in  his  possession :  there 
is,  therefore,  nothing  left  for  him  to  desire.  All  beings 
and  events  are  exactly  such,  as  he  chooses  either  to 
produce,  or  to  permit ;  and  such  as  he  chose,  antece- 
dently to  their  existence.  He  can,  therefore,  have  no- 
thing to  fear,  or  to  malign.  As  he  gave  all,  which  is 
possessed  by  other  beings,  he  can  evidently  neither 
gain,  nor  receive  any  thing.  If  he  be  malevolent,  then, 
he  must  sustain  this  character  without  a  motive. 

"  2dly.  An  Omniscient  Being  cannot  but  see,  that  it 
is  more  glorious  to  himself,  and  more  beneficial  to  his 
8*  d* 


90  THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD. 

creatures,  to  sustain,  and  to  exhibit  a  benevolent  charac- 
ter, than  its  contrary :  or,  in  other  words,  in  every  respect 
more  desirable. 

"  The  glory  of  the  Creator  and  the  good  of  his  crea- 
tures, involve  every  thing  that  is  desirable.  That  this 
truth  must  be  seen  by  an  Omniscient  Being,  in  a  man- 
ner infinitely  superior  to  that  in  which  we  see  it,  hardly 
needs  to  be  asserted. 

"  The  desirableness  of  this  conduct5  arising  from  the 
glory  of  the  Creator  and  the  good  of  his  creatures,  seems 
to  present,  when  we  consider  it  as  extending  through 
Eternity,  an  infinite  motive  to  the  Creator,  to  cherish  a 
benevolent  character,  and  to  manifest  it  in  all  his  con- 
duct To  the  power  of  this  motive  there  is  at  the  same 
time  no  motive  opposed.  On  the  contrary,  we  know, 
and  the  Creator,  in  a  manner  infinitely  more  perfectly, 
knows,  that  the  existence  and  exercise  of  a  malevolent 
character  would  be  infinitely  dishonourable  to  himself, 
and  in  the  progress  of  Eternity  infinitely  injurious  to  his 
creatures.  Each  of  these  considerations  presents  to  the 
Creator  an  infinite  motive  to  exercise  benevolence  on  the 
one  hand,  and  not  to  exercise  malevolence  on  the  other. 
If,  then,  he  has  in  fact  exercised  malevolence,  he  has 
done  it  without  any  motive,  and  against  the  influence  of 
both  these :  each  of  them  infinite  in  importance. 

"  3dly.  The  only  conduct  which  a  Creator  can  receive 
with  'pleasure  from  his  creatures,  must  plainly  be  attach- 
ment, reverence,  and  the  voluntary  obedience  which  they 
produce. 


THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD.  91 

"  Whether  the  Creator  be  benevolent,  or  malevolent, 
it  is  impossible  that  he  should  not  choose  to  be  loved, 
reverenced,  and  obeyed.  But  the  real  Creator  has  so 
formed  his  works,  and  so  constituted  his  providence, 
that  the  minds  of  men,  irresistibly,  and  of  absolute  ne- 
cessity, esteem  a  benevolent  being  more  than  one  of  the 
opposite  character.  I  do  not  mean,  here,  that  this  is 
the  dictate  of  the  heart ;  but  I  mean,  that  it  is  the  una- 
voidable dictate  of  the  intellect ;  of  the  conscience  and 
understanding.  The  intellect  is  so  formed  by  the  Cre- 
ator, that  it  is  impossible  for  it  to  think  otherwise.  Any 
person,  who  will  make  the  attempt,  will  find  it  beyond 
his  power  to  approve  of  malevolence  at  all.  If,  there- 
fore, the  Creator  be  malevolent,  he  has  so  formed  his 
intelligent  creatures  in  this  world,  that  they  cannot  pos- 
sibly esteem  his  character.  In  other  words,  he  has 
made  them  incapable,  by  a  natural  necessity,  of  render- 
ing to  Him  that  regard,  which  in  itself,  or  in  its  conse- 
quences, is  the  only  possible  conduct,  on  the  part  of  his 
intelligent  creatures,  which  a  Creator  can  have  pro- 
posed, when  He  gave  them  existence."  (Dwight's  The- 
ology. Vol.  I.  p.  167,  &c.) 

From  these  luminous  arguments  it  plainly  appears* 
that  as  the  Supreme  Being  could  gain  nothing  by  the 
exercise  of  malevolence,  so  he  must  have  known  that 
he  would  inevitably  lose  all. 

First,  he  would  lose  all  his  glory.  A  sense  of  mean- 
ness is  inseparable  from  a  base  character.  Not  only 
would  he  be  destitute  of  the  love  and  veneration  of  his 


92  THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD. 

creatures,  but  also  of  all  self-respect ;  for  all  true  glory 
consists  in  those  attributes,  or  traits  of  character,  which 
constitute  moral  worthiness.  This  matter  God  himself 
has  decided.  (Exodus,  xxxiii.  18,  19.  —  xxxiv.  6,7.) 
Now  as  such  a  character  as  this  constitutes  all  true 
worth,  so  the  contrary  is  base  and  unworthy ;  as  the 
former  is  associated  with  a  conscious  dignity,  so  the 
latter  produces  a  sense  of  shame,  and  the  malignant 
mind  cannot  help  feeling  that  it  deserves  universal  con- 
tempt. 

Secondly,  he  would  lose  all  his  happiness.  All  expe- 
rience proves  that  malevolence  not  only  inflicts  misery 
on  others,  but  is  itself  a  source  of  misery,  in  the  mind 
over  which  it  predominates.  Every  tyrant  in  existence 
is  compelled  to  feel,  that  the  more  he  diffuses  misery 
abroad,  the  more  he  increases  the  weight  of  it  in  his 
own  soul.  What  shadow  of  evidence  can  we  find  in 
earth  or  heaven,  that  there  is  a  possibility  for  such  a 
disposition  to  operate  in  any  mind,  without  producing 
similar  results  ?  As  Benevolence  is  an  eternal  fountain 
of  enjoyment,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  Malevolence  is  the 
dark  and  dreadful  source  of  all  misery. 

Thirdly,  he  ivould  lose  all  his  ivisdom.  Our  Maker 
has  decided,  that  all  moral  evil  is  folly,  and  that  no  man 
can  live  and  die  devoid  of  the  exercises  of  bepevolence, 
without  being  a  fool.  (Luke  xii.  20.)  Will  any  one  say, 
that  with  respect  to  God,  there  is  no  distinction  between 
wisdom  and  folly,  and  that  with  Him,  one  course  of  ac- 
tion would  be  as  wise   as   another  1     If  so,  He  never 


THE  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD.  93 

pursues  one  course  because  it  is  wise,  or  avoids  another 
because  it  is  unwise  ;  seeing  with  Him  all  actions  are 
alike,  and  there  needs  no  intelligent  discrimination !  On 
this  supposition  He  has  no  occasion  for  any  thing  else 
than  a  "  blind  mill,"  as  Mr.  Watson  speaks,  and  a  blind 
understanding  also.  The  truth  is,  our  Maker  alwrays 
keeps  in  the  right  way,  not  because  all  ways  are  alike 
to  Him,  but  because  being  above  all  liability  to  mistake, 
He  knows  the  good  way  from  the  bad,  and  chooses  the 
former  because  it  is  the  good  way.  To  say  of  any  be- 
ing that  he  can  be  infinitely  wise,  and  at  the  same  time 
infinitely  malevolent,  is  a  direct  contradiction ;  because 
malevolence  leads  to  certain  misery,  and  therefore  is 
folly. 

Lastly,  he  would  lose  all  his  labour,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  creation  to  eternity,  The  creation  of  a  ma- 
levolent being  must  reflect  his  own  image ;  and  there- 
fore it  would  exhibit  nothing  sublime,  grand,  or  beauti- 
ful. To  what  purpose  would  a  creation  exist,  to  be 
only  the  instrument  of  inflicting  misery  on  all  crea- 
tures, except  to  cause  them  to  maintain  eternal  con- 
tempt for  their  Creator  1  Such  a  creation  would  be 
useless,  and  worse  than  useless  ;  and  with  wThat  a  holy 
and  infinite  indignation  must  the  God  of  nature  look 
upon  the  supposition,  that  he  can  be  capable  of  such  a 
procedure ! 

The  argument,  in  short,  is  this :  good  principle,  car- 
ried out  into  a  uniform  course  of  good  action,  is  the 
source  of  felicity,  in  the  Supreme  Being  as  well  as  in 


94  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE. 

every  other ;  this  is  known  to  Him,  without  any  possi- 
bility of  mistake ;  therefore  it  is  impossible  for  any  mo- 
tive or  temptation  to  enter  into  his  mind,  to  depart  from 
rectitude,  either  in  principle  or  in  action ;  because  it 
would  be  to  depart  from  essential  happiness,  into  all  the 
modifications  of  mental  and  conscious  misery.  To  say 
a  Being  who  infinitely  loves  right,  can  at  the  same  time 
have  a  disposition  to  influence  others  to  do  wrong,  is  a 
plain  contradiction  ;  and  hence  it  follows,  from  the  com- 
bination of  rational  and  Scriptural  evidence,  that  God 
cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any  man. 


SECTION  II. 

The  constitution  of  Nature. 

From  what  has  been  before  proved,  we  consider  our- 
selves entitled  to  view  the  Creation  and  the  Bible  in 
conjunction,  supporting  the  same  identical  system  of 
Divine  truth ;  and  that,  far  from  standing  in  opposition, 
they  mutually  confirm  and  illustrate  each  other.  The 
Bible  is  a  luminous  commentary  upon  the  visible  uni- 
verse ;  and  we  deem  it  as  perfectly  ridiculous  to  set  the 
one  in  opposition  to  the  other,  as  to  suppose  there  is 
something  in  God  which  causes  him  to  take  delight  in 
contradicting  himself. 

That  the  works  of  nature  directly  prove  the  good- 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE.       95 

ness  of  God,  will  appear  from  the  following  authorities 
and  arguments  : 

The  Rev.  Richard  Watson  says,  "  That  huge  globe 
of  fire  in  the  heavens  which  we  call  the  sun,  and  on  the 
light  and  influence  of  which  the  fertility  of  our  world, 
and  the  life  and  pleasure  of  all  animals  depend,  knows 
nothing  of  its  serviceableness  to  these  purposes,  nor  of 
the  wise  laws  according  to  which  its  beams  are  dis- 
pensed ;  nor  what  place  or  motions  were  requisite  for 
these  beneficial  purposes.  Yet  its  beams  are  darted 
constantly  in  infinite  numbers,  every  one  according  to 
those  well-chosen  laws,  and  its  proper  place  and  motion 
are  maintained.  Must  not  then  its  place  be  appointed, 
its  motion  regulated,  and  beams  darted,  by  Almighty 
Wisdom  and  Goodness  ? 

"  This  earth  is  in  itself  a  dead  motionless  mass,  and 
void  of  all  counsel ;  yet  proper  parts  of  it  are  con- 
tinually raised  through  small  pipes  which  compose  the 
bodies  of  plants  and  trees,  and  are  made  to  contribute 
to  their  growth,  to  open  and  shine  in  blossoms  and 
leaves,  and  to  swell  and  harden  into  fruit.  Could  blind 
thoughtless  particles  thus  continually  keep  on  their  way, 
through  numberless  windings,  without  once  blundering, 
if  they  were  not  guided  by  an  unerring  hand  1  Can  the 
most  perfect  human  skill  from  earth  and  water  form 
one  grain,  much  more  a  variety  of  beautiful  and  relish- 
ing fruits  1  Must  not  the  directing  Mind,  who  does  all 
this  constantly,  be  most  wise,  mighty  and  benevolent  ? 
Must  not  the  Being  who   thus  continually  exerts  his 


9b  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE. 

skill  and  energy  around  us,  for  our  benefit,  be  confessed 
to  be  always  present,  and  concerned  for  our  welfare  1" 
(Institutes,  p.  187.)  Thus  clearly,  according  to  Mr. 
Watson,  does  nature  evince  the  benevolence  of  its  Di- 
vine Author. 

A  second  authority  is  Dr.  Dwight.  Speaking  of  God, 
he  says,  "  He  saw,  that  it  was  becoming  his  character 
to  unfold  his  perfections,  and  to  communicate  his  good- 
ness, to  an  endless  and  innumerable  race  of  beings. 
From  an  infinite  height,  he  took  a  survey  of  the  im- 
measurable vast  of  possible  beings ;  and  in  an  expan- 
sion without  limits,  but  desolate  and  wild,  where  nothing 
was,  called  into  existence  with  a  word,  the  countless 
multitude  of  worlds,  with  all  their  various  furniture. 
With  his  own  hand  He  lighted  up  at  once  innumerable 
suns,  and  rolled  around  them  innumerable  worlds.  All 
these  He  so  dispersed,  and  arranged,  as  that  all  re- 
ceived light,  and  warmth,  and  life,  and  comfort ;  and 
all,  at  the.  same  time,  He  stored,  and  adorned,  with  a 
rich  and  unceasing  variety  of  beauty  and  magnificence, 
and  with  the  most  suitable  means  of  virtue  and  happi- 
ness." (Theology,  p.  132.)     Again: 

"  By  his  immutability,  God  is  qualified  to  perform, 
and  to  pursue,  one  great  plan  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence ;  one  harmonious  scheme  of  boundless  good  ; 
and  to  carry  on  a  perfect  system,  in  a  perfect  manner, 
without  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning.  An  immu- 
table God,  only,  can  be  expected  to  do  that,  which  is 
supremely  right  and  desirable  :  to  make  every  part  of 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE.       97 

his  great  work  exactly  what  it  ought  to  be  ;  and  to  con- 
stitute of  all  the  parts  a  perfect  whole.    In  this  immense 

WOrk,  ONE  CHARACTER  IS    EVERY  WHERE   DISPLAYED  ;    One 

God ;  one  Ruler ;  one  Sun  of  Righteousness ;  enlighten- 
ing, warming,  and  quickening,  the  innumerable  beings 
of  which  it  is  composed.  Diversities,  indeed,  endless 
diversities,  of  his  agency,  exist  throughout  the  different 
parts  of  the  work ;  but  they  are  mere  changes  of  the 
same  light ;  the  varying  colours  and  splendours  of  the 
same  glorious  Sun."     (Theology,  p.  134.) 

Quotations  might  be  multiplied,  all  containing  the 
same  substantial  statements,  that  the  visible  creation 
speaks  an  impressive  language,  that  God  is  a  perfectly 
good  Being,  without  any  contradiction ;  and  that  his 
immutable  goodness  is  "  displayed"  throughout  the 
whole  universe. 

But  without  continuing  to  gaze  on  the  vast  splendours 
of  central  suns  and  surrounding  worlds,  let  us  weigh 
the  evidence  presented  by  the  consciousness  of  the  mind. 
What  did  Adam  find  his  condition  to  be,  before  his 
Maker's  workmanship  was  injured  by  sin?  The  very 
act  of  healthful  breathing,  he  found  to  be  an  exercise 
of  happiness.  His  eyes,  his  ears,  and  other  senses,  he 
found  to  be  wonderful  mediums  of  enjoyment,  while 
the  beauties  of  external  nature,  and  the  harmony  of 
sounds,  delightfully  corresponded  with  the  structure  of 
his  newly  created  faculties.  His  mental  energies,  exer- 
cised in  thinking,  and  treasuring  up  knowledge  from  the 
great  volume  of  nature,  constituted  a  more  sublime 
9  e 


98  '    THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE. 

felicity  still ;  and  above  all,  the  exercise  of  esteem,  reve- 
rence, confidence,  and  love,' towards  the  great  Author 
of  all  things.  Add  to  this,  that  God  made  a  helpmate 
for  him,  whereby  was  laid  the  foundation  of  social  hap- 
piness. A  garden,  of  God's  own  right-hand  planting, 
was  prepared  for  them,  in  which,  warmed  by  the  gen- 
tle beams  of  the  sun,  and  fanned  by  the  mild  air  of 
Paradise,  they  had  every  variety  of  fruit,  calculated  to 
afford  enjoyment,  and  to  nourish  their  constitution. 
How  is  it  possible  to  take  even  a  slight  glance  at  a 
scene  like  this,  without  perceiving  indubitable  proofs  of 
Divine  benevolence,  and  of  nothing  else  ?  In  regard  to 
the  subsequent  ravages  of  sin,  and  the  consequent  inter- 
ruption of  original  happiness,  these  matters  are  to  come 
under  review  in  a  following  part  of  this  discussion. 

It  is  incumbent  on  us  first  to  examine  how  happiness 
was  provided  for  in  our  original  constitution,  and  in  the 
constitution  of  external  nature ;  a  brief  specification  of 
which  may  be  exhibited  as  follows : 

First,  intelligence,  with  the  capacity  to  advance  in 
knowledge,  is  a  very  great  source  of  enjoyment,  as  all 
men  know  by  experience,  so  far  as  they  have  properly 
exercised  their  mental  faculties.  The  means  of  know- 
ledge are  all  around  us,  and  are  constantly  open  to  our 
inspection ;  and  it  appears  evident,  from  the  vast  com- 
pass of  the  universe,  that  provision  is  made  for  the  en- 
largement of  this  felicity  without  end : — all  nature  regu- 
larly conducting  us  to  an  increasing  knowledge  of  the 
beauty  and  glory  of  the  Eternal  Mind. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE.  99 

Secondly,  our  agency,  or  freedom  of  will,  is  another 
gift  bestowed  on  ns  by  infinite  goodness.  This  power 
is  essential  to  three  great  purposes:  1.  to  furnish  each 
individual  with  the  happiness  of  spontaneous  action; 
2.  to  give  each  the  capacity  to  contribute  to  the  good 
of  society ;  and  3.  to  render  both  men  and  angels  amia- 
ble in  the  sight  of  their  Maker,  as  his  cheerful,  free,  and 
voluntary  servants  and  children.  Without  the  gift  of 
moral  agency,  all  these  great  and  valuable  ends  would 
have  been  prevented;  and  both  men  and  angels  would 
have  been  placed  on  a  level  with  brute  creatures  in  the 
scale  of  existence. 

Thirdly,  our  conscience,  or  moral  discernment,  is  the 
result  of  pure  goodness  on  the  part  of  Him  who  formed 
our  intellectual  constitution.  Without  this,  the  distinc- 
tion between  right  and  wrong,  the  beauty  of  moral  prin- 
ciples, and  the  glory  of  rectitude,  would  be  to  us  un- 
known. We  should  have  no  capacity  for  either  the 
sweet  and  heart-cheering  consciousness  of  integrity 
within  ourselves,  or  the  sublime  pleasure  of  appreciating 
the  character  of  virtue  in  others.  The  testimony  of  a 
good  conscience,  and  all  the  rejoicing  which  results 
from  that  testimony,  would  be  unpossessed  and  un- 
known by  man.  Fellowship  with  God,  and  admiration 
of  the  holy  grandeur  of  his  character,  would  be  entirely 
prevented  ;  and  consequently,  we  should  be  for  ever  de- 
prived of  the  very  highest  kind  of  mental  enjoyment. 

Fourthly,  our  social  capacity,  including  all  the  be- 
nevolent affections,  is  a  wonderful  proof  of  our  heavenly 


100  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE. 

Father's  good-will  to  his  intelligent  creation.  The  hap- 
piness of  loving  and  being  loved,  of  exercising  mutual 
confidence,  and  interchanging  friendly  sentiments  and 
affections,  is  a  happiness  proved  by  constant  experience ; 
and  none  are  destitute  of  it,  excepting  so  far  as  their 
dispositions  have  become  corrupted  by  the  sentiments 
and  feelings  of  malevolence. 

Fifthly,  another  proof  of  heavenly  kindness,  is  our 
being  endowed  with  mental  taste;  that  is,  our  having 
the  capacity  of  pleasure  from  the  contemplation  of  beau- 
ty,  novelty,  and  grandeur;  while  the  whole  creation 
abounds  with  objects  beautiful,  new,  and  grand.  It 
would  probably  require  ten  thousand  years  for  us  to 
explore  the  beauties  of  one  world;  and  how  many 
times  ten  thousand  worlds  our  great  Creator  has  in  his 
possession,  containing  new  beauties,  still  more  sublime 
and  grand  than  those  contained  in  the  world  which  is 
now  inhabited  by  man,  we  know  not,  but  perad venture 
we  shall  know  hereafter. 

If  we  add  to  all  this,  the  senses  and  appetites  of  the 
body,  whereby  we  are  brought  into  immediate  contact 
with  the  external  world,  and  endowed  with  so  many 
inlets  of  enjoyment  to  the  mind,  we  are  constrained  to 
wonder  at  the  divine  skill  of  the  Almighty,  and  to  adore 
Him  for  the  riches  of  his  heavenly  bounty;  and  we 
have  cause  to  regard  with  pity  the  ignorance  which 
overlooks  these  provisions  of  divine  goodness,  and  with 
contempt  and  indignation,  the  malignity  which  despises 
them. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE.  101 

Now  it  will  be  readily  admitted,  that  it  was  right  for 
our  Creator  to  endow  us  with  these  faculties,  and  that 
it  is  right  for  his  creatures  to  exercise  their  given  pow- 
ers, and  to  have  the  enjoyment  which  their  proper  use 
is  calculated  to  furnish ;  whence  it  follows,  that  wrong 
conduct,  being  the  opposite  of  right,  is  that  conduct 
which  tends  to  derange  and  pervert  our  original  consti- 
tution. As  the  due  exercise  of  our  capacities  and  pow- 
ers naturally  produces  happiness,  so  the  perversion  of 
them  will  inevitably  eventuate  in  misery. 

That  sin,  in  its  own  nature,  produces  misery,  and 
that  this  is  the  precise  measure  of  its  turpitude,  is  a 
truth  of  immense  importance ;  and  the  contemplation 
of  it  is  necessary,  to  clear  our  views  of  the  divine 
government,  to  remove  out  of  our  way  innumerable 
obscurities  and  contradictions,  and  to  aid  us  in  forming 
an  harmonious  and  consistent  system  of  theology.  It 
must  therefore  be  sustained  by  authorities. 

Dr.  Dwight  says,  "  It  appears  to  me  evident,  that  the 
adoption  of  truth,  or  falsehood,  by  the  Creator,  must  be 
followed  by  exactly  the  same  effects,  which  they  pro- 
duce in  us.  In  the  former  case,  he  must  regard  him- 
self with  entire  complacency  or  self-approbation ;  in  the 
latter,  with  an  irresistible  consciousness  of  turpitude 
and  unworthiness.  An  unlimited  sense  of  excellence 
on  the  one  hand,  accompanied  of  course  with  unlimited 
happiness ;  on  the  other,  a  boundless  sense  of  turpitude, 
accompanied,  for  aught  that  I  can  see,  with  boundless 
shame  and  wretchedness."  (Theology,  Vol.  I.  p.  206.) 
9* 


102  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE. 

Dr.  Dwight  says,  again,  "  In  the  Scriptures  we  are 
taught,  in  the  clearest  manner,  that  sin  is  an  universal 
opposition  to  God,  and  an  universal  hostility  to  his  be- 
nevolent designs ;  and  that  it  is  universally  mischievous 
to  the  well-being  of  the  sinner  himself,  and  of  his  fel- 
low-creatures. Thus  we  learn,  that  it  is  a  direct  war 
upon  the  Creator,  and  his  creatures ;  a  malignant  con- 
tention against  all  that  is  good,  and  the  voluntary  source 
of  all  that  is  evil."  (Theology,  Vol.  I.  p.  182.)  Again: 
"  That  disposition  in  his  creatures,  which  is  opposite  to 
his  own,  is  in  itself  odious,  in  proportion  as  his  is  amia- 
ble ;  and  voluntarily  endeavours  to  oppose,  and  to  frus- 
trate his  purposes ;  that  is,  to  diminish,  or  destroy,  the 
boundless  good  which  he  has  begun  to  accomplish.  In 
this  view,  the  rebellion  of  sinners  assumes  a  most  odious 
and  dreadful  aspect ;  and  is  here  seen  to  be  a  direct 
hostility  against  the  benevolent  character  and  designs 
of  God,  and  against  the  well-being  of  his  intelligent 
creation."    (Vol.  I.  p.  191.) 

Thus  it  plainly  appears,  that  the  great  evil  of  sin  con- 
sists solely  in  the  malignant  hostility  of  the  sinner  against 
God's  plan  of  happiness,  and  in  its  being  the  source  of 
misery.  Will  not  any  man  find  it  a  puzzling  matter  to 
inform  us  in  what  else  the  evil  of  sin  consists  1 

The  same  great  author  exclaims,  "  What  a  dreadful 
instrument  would  Omnipotence  be  in  the  hands  of  an 
unjust  being !  What  evils  must  not  all  creatures  fear ! 
How  instantaneously  would  all  hope  vanish,  all  safety 
cease,  all  good  perish !     The  universe  would  become  a 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE.  103 

desert,  a  dungeon,  an  immense  region  of  mourning, 
lamentation,  and  ico."  (p.  199.)  And  would  the  author- 
ity of  such  a  being  deserve  to  be  regarded  ?  Would 
there  be  any  evil  in  opposing  it  1  If  not,  the  sole  rea- 
son why  it  is  a  great  evil  to  act  in  opposition  to  the  au- 
thority of  God,  is  that  his  authority  is  constantly  regu- 
lated by  justice  and  benevolence;  that  is,  constantly 
defending  and  promoting  happiness. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Watson  says,  "  It  is  certain  that 
virtuous  affections  and  actions  have  been  enjoined  upon 
all  rational  creatures  under  the  'general  name  of  righte- 
ousness, and  that  their  contraries  have  been  prohibited. 
It  is  a  matter  also  of  constant  experience  and  observa- 
tion, that  the  good  of  society  is  promoted  by  the  one, 
and  injured  by  the  other;  and  also  that  every  individual 
derives,  by  the  very  constitution  of  his  nature,  benefit 
and  happiness  from  rectitude ;  injury  and  misery  from 
vice.  This  constitution  of  human  nature  is  therefore 
an  indication,  that  the  Maker  and  Ruler  of  men  formed 
them  with  the  intent  that  they  should  avoid  vice,  and 
practise  virtue  ;  and  that  the  former  is  the  object  of  his 
aversion,  the  latter  of  his  regard.  On  this  principle  all 
the  laws  which  Almighty  God  has  enacted  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  mankind,  have  been  constructed."  (Insti- 
tutes, p.  221.)  That  is,  actions  have  been  prohibited 
solely  because  they  produce  misery ;  and  others  are 
enjoined,  because  they  are  necessary  to  happiness. 
Again :  "  The  creation  of  beings  capable  of  choice, 
seems  necessarily  to  have  involved  the  possibility  of 


104      THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE. 

volitions  and  acts  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  Creator, 
and  consequently,  it  involved  a  liability  to  misery.  To 
prevent  this,  both  justice  and  benevolence  were  con- 
cerned. Opposition  to  the  will  of  God,  which  will  is 
the  natural  law  of  a  creature,  must  be  the  source  of 
misery  to  the  offender,  and  that  independent  of  direct 
punishment.  This  is  manifest.  Some  end  was  proposed 
in  creation,  or  it  could  not  have  been  a  work  of  wisdom ; 
the  felicity  of  the  creature  must  have  been  proposed  as 
an  end,  or  creation  could  not  have  been  a  display  of 
goodness.  The  end  proposed  in  the  forming  of  intelli- 
gent creatures  could  only  be  answered  by  their  con- 
tinual compliance  with  the  will  of  God.  This  implied 
both  the  power  and  the  exercise  of  holiness,  and  with 
(hat  the  felicity  of  the  creature  was  necessarily  con- 
nected. It  was  adapted  to  a  certain  end,  and  in  attain- 
ing that  its  happiness  was  secured.  To  be  disobedient 
was  to  set  itself  in  opposition  to  God,  and  was,  there- 
fore, to  frustrate  his  benevolent  intentions  as  to  its  hap- 
piness, and  to  become  miserable  from  its  very  hostility 
to  God,  and  the  disorder  arising  from  the  misapplication 
of  the  powers  with  which  it  had  been  endowed.  To 
prevent  all  these  evils,  and  to  secure  the  purposes  for 
which  creative  power  was  exerted,  were  the  ends, 
therefore,  of  that  administration  which  arose  out  of  the 
existence  of  moral  agents."     (Institutes,  p.  367.) 

From  these  authorities,  to  which  others  might  be 
added,  we  appear  to  be  fairly  entitled  to  the  following 
conclusions :    First,  that  Almighty  God,  in  his  original 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  NATURE.  105 

creation,  established  a  complete  plan  of  universal  hap- 
piness. Secondly,  that  all  his  subsequent  conduct,  in 
giving  law  to  his  intelligent  creatures,  was  to  maintain 
this  plan,  and  to  prohibit  every  action  that  would  tend 
to  injure  it,  or  to  oppose  its  operation.  Thirdly,  that 
sin,  in  its  own  nature,  destroys  happiness,  and  tends  to 
universal  misery ;  and  that  this  is  the  sole  ground  of  its 
criminality.  If  any  man  believes  in  some  other  ground 
of  the  guilt  of  sin,  it  might  be  well  for  him  to  cast  some 
light  upon  the  subject,  by  giving  an  intelligible  explana- 
tion of  his  views. 

Now  if  it  be  true,  that  all  happiness  is  to  be  enjoyed 
within  the  boundaries  of  right ;  and  if  God  gave  moral 
faculties  to  man,  that  he  might  discern  these  bounda- 
ries, and  feel  his  obligation  to  regard  them ;  then  it  fol- 
lows, as  above  observed,  that  the  gift  of  conscience  is  a 
proof,  among  many  others,  of  the  pure  goodness  of  our 
Creator.  His  enforcing  obligation  upon  this  moral  dis- 
cernment, by  the  exercise  of  ruling  power,  and  even  by 
the  whole  penal  energies  of  his  administration,  far  from 
proving  any  deficiency  in  benevolence,  will  be  a  perfect 
illustration  of  it,  as  I  trust  will  be  seen  in  the  course  of 
our  subsequent  inquiries  and  investigations. 


SECTION  III. 

Nature  and  Tendency  of  the  Divine  Law. 

The  proposition  which  we  assume,  is  that  God  gave 
law  to  his  intelligent  creatures,  because  he  knew  that 
one  kind  of  conduct,  in  its  own  nature,  would  produce 
misery,  while  the  opposite  would  tend  to  maintain  the 
happiness  which  had  been  provided  for  in  the  original 
constitution  of  the  universe.  If  all  kinds  of  action  were 
alike  indifferent  to  happiness,  no  law  would  be  neces- 
sary; and  neither  wisdom,  justice,  nor  benevolence, 
could  have  any  influence  in  its  enactment.  If  all  ac- 
tions were  alike,  as  to  their  influence  upon  happiness, 
an  abridgment  of  liberty,  by  law,  would  not  only  be 
unnecessary,  but  unkind.  For  why  limit  the  exercise 
of  agency,  in  any  manner  or  degree,  if  there  be  no  ne- 
cessity for  it  ?  If  all  kinds  of  conduct  in  creatures  had 
been  originally  indifferent  to  these  essential  purposes,  it 
would  follow,  not  only  that  the  law  was  given  for  the 
mere  display  of  authority,  but  that  it  was  the  very  thing 
which  made  an  inroad  into  that  universal  enjoyment, 
which,  without  it,  would  have  remained  for  ever  unin- 
terrupted. But  if,  on  the  contrary,  opposite  kinds  of 
conduct  would,  in  the  nature  of  things,  have  produced 
opposite  results,  then  it  required  all  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  God,  so  to  form   the  law,  that  obedience 

(106) 


TENDENCY  OF  THE  DIVINE  LAW.  107 

would  invariably  maintain  the  common  welfare.  On 
this  ground  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  law  of  God 
furnishes  a  distinct  and  impressive  argument,  in  support 
of  the  great  truth  which  it  is  the  present  purpose  to 
illustrate  and  to  defend. 

Law  is  a  rule  of  action  prescribed  and  enforced  by 
authority.  The  Being  who  gave  felicity  to  creatures, 
and  who  knows  with  infallible  certainty  on  what  its 
perpetuity  depends,  has  a  right  to  enjoin  that  line  of 
conduct  which  is  essential  to  its  continuance ;  and  to 
prohibit  the  contrary. 

The  great  principle  of  his  law,  we  are  assured,  is 
love.  This  is  an  affection  which,  as  consciousness  tes- 
tifies, is  a  source  of  enjoyment  in  the  centre  of  the 
mind  itself,  and  which  disposes  the  mind  to  communi- 
cate happiness  to  others.  The  same  Authority  which 
enjoins  love,  prohibits  malice.  Wherefore  1  Exactly 
because  the  former  is  the  source  of  all  happiness,  and 
the  latter  the  source  of  all  misery.  For  this  reason, 
and  this  alone,  the  former  is  right,  and  the  latter  is 
wrong ;  and  on  this  ground  the  one  is  commanded,  and 
the  other  is  forbidden.  Wherefore,  the  law  is  holy,  and 
the  commandment  holy,  and  just  and  good.  Then  to 
alter  it,  and  make  it  the  reverse  of  what  it  is,  would  be 
to  make  it  an  unholy,  an  unjust,  and  a  bad  law.  Would 
it  be  possible  for  any  being  in  existence  to  enact  and 
enforce  such  a  law,  without  being  a  tyrant  1 

But  where  is  this  holy,  and  just  and  good  law  of  God 
to  be  found?     In  the  Bible.     Its  principles  were  en- 


108  TENDENCY  OF  THE  DIVINE  LAW. 

graven  on  tables  of  stone ;  and  the  writings  of  the  pro- 
phets and  apostles  are  a  luminous  commentary  upon 
those  principles.  The  Divine  Master  himself  explained 
it ;  and  assured  us  that  on  two  great  moral  axioms,  the 
whole  of  its  details  were  suspended.  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart ;  and  thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself  ?  Why  1  Because  thy 
God  is  the  Fountain  of  all  happiness,  and  thy  neighbour 
is  an  equal  recipient  of  it  with  thyself.  Therefore  the 
love  of  universal  happiness,  constitutes  the  essence  of 
the  Divine  government.  God  demands  the  entire  love 
of  the  heart,  because  He  is  infinitely  worthy  of  it,  and 
because  the  exercise  of  it  is  essential  to  the  well-being 
of  every  creature.  If  there  were  any  vestige  of  injus- 
tice, cruelty,  or  partiality  in  God,  then  this  law  would 
require  us  to  love  injustice,  cruelty,  and  partiality,  with 
all  our  heart.  If  so,  would  not  the  law  itself  have  a 
corrupting  tendency  upon  our  faculties,  and  lay  the 
foundation  of  eternal  misery  ? 

In  regard  to  the  second  branch  of  the  law,  it  is  thus 
commented  en  by  the  apostle :  "  Love  worketh  no  ill  to 
his  neighbour ;  therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 
This  plainly  implies,  that  the  sum  total  of  the  prohi- 
bitory part  of  the  law,  in  relation  to  our  neighbour,  is 
that  we  shall  do  no  ill  to  him ;  that  is,  do  no  action  that 
will  interrupt  his  happiness.  If  we  follow  out  the  law 
in  all  its  details,  and  scrutinize  its  particular  precepts, 
we  shall  find  that  this  is  the  principle  of  the  whole, 
from  which  there  is  no  deviation.     Such  a  law  clearly 


TENDENCY  OF  THE  DIVINE  LAW.  109 

shows  the  character  of  the  Almighty  to  be  most  lovely ; 
and  the  Book  through  which  it  runs  is  thereby  proved, 
to  every  candid  mind,  to  be  of  Divine  original. 

From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  that  holy  Book,  all 
cruelty,  injustice,  unmercifulness  and  deceitfulness,  are 
prohibited  in  the  most  solemn  manner;  we  are  com- 
manded to  be  merciful,  even  as  our  Father  in  heaven  is 
merciful;  to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  hum- 
bly with  our  God ;  to  do  good  to  our  fellow-creatures 
to  the  uttermost  of  our  power,  and  to  avoid  every  thing 
that  would  injure  them,  or  interrupt  their  tranquillity. 
Now  to  suppose  God.  thus  carefully  to  promote  these 
dispositions  and  practices  among  his  creatures,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  suppose  Him  to  exercise  the  opposite 
himself,  is  an  insult  to  common  sense,  and  implies  a  di- 
rect charge  of  hypocrisy  and  tyranny  against  "  the 
high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity." 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  follows,  that  authority  in 
God  is  that  which  commands  us  to  be  happy,  and  which 
forbids  every  thing  that  would  lead  to  misery :  conse- 
quently, divine  sovereignty  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
the  authority  of  infinite  benevolence,  requiring  the  main- 
tenance of  that  plan  of  universal  happiness  which  it 
had  previously  established.  We  have  therefore  the 
same  reason  to  love  God  for  the  exercise  of  his  autho- 
rity, that  we  have  to  love  Him  for  giving  us  life,  and 
preparing  for  us  the  happiness  of  life  eternal. 
10 


SECTION  IV. 
The  Gospel. 

It  is  so  far  from  being  the  nature  of  benevolence  to 
love  sin,  that  the  more  pure  and  ardent  it  is,  the  greater 
and  more  intense  will  be  its  abhorrence  of  that  which 
is  evil.  Nevertheless,  it  exercises  good-will  to  the  sin- 
ner, and  delights  to  pursue  every  just  measure  to  accom- 
plish his  reformation,  and  thereby  to  deliver  him  from 
his  misery. 

In  regard  to  the  difficulties  connected  with  the  intro- 
duction of  moral  evil,  they  are  to  be  considered  after- 
wards. We  are  now  to  view  God's  treatment  of  sin- 
ners, as  a  distinct  proof  of  his  essential  kindness  of 
character.  He  loved  us,  when  he  established  the  foun- 
dation of  felicity  in  our  original  constitution ;  he  loved 
us,  when  he  gave  a  holy  law  to  guard  and  perpetuate 
that  happiness ;  but  more  than  all  this,  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever belie veth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  Saviour 
of  the  world." 

This  wonderful  process  demonstrated  how  much  God 
was  in  earnest  to  bring  us  back  to  happiness ;  how  he 
could  condescend,  how  much  he  could  endure,  to  bless 
and  to  save  us.   To  say  the  process  was  unnecessary — 

(110) 


THE  GOSPEL.  Ill 

that  it  was  a  mere  empty  show  of  kindness,  that  meant 
nothing,  and  accomplished  nothing — alas  !  this  is  to  in- 
sult the  infinite  tenderness  of  love.  It  is  to  charge 
Heaven  with  crocodile  tears,  and  with  hypocritical 
agonies ! 

In  Jesus  Christ  the  amiable  character  of  God  was 
made  visible.  He  tabernacled  among  us,  and  we  beheld 
his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Fa- 
ther, full  of  grace  and  truth.  He  was  as  a  lamb,  with- 
out blemish,  and  without  spot.  He  said,  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart — kind,  condescending,  and  gracious, — 
and  whosoever  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father. 
That  is,  were  the  Father  to  become  visible  in  any  other 
way,  so  that  you  could  behold  the  disposition  of  his 
mind  displayed,  he  would  appear  exactly  as  you  see  me, 
with  the  same  holy  mildness,  and  the  same  unwavering 
opposition  to  all  sin.  This  condescending  method  where- 
by the  Deity  brought  himself  near  to  us,  that  we  might 
converse  with  God,  and  he  with  us,  as  a  man  converses 
face  to  face  with  his  friend,  is  an  advantage  of  unspeak- 
able value.  And  what  an  eternal  honour  it  is,  and  will 
be,  to  the  human  race,  that  God  and  man  are  united  in 
such  a  wonderful  manner  ! 

What  an  unspeakable  advantage  it  is  to  mankind,  to 
have  such  a  Teacher,  such  a  faithful  and  true  witness, 
who  came  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto  the 
fathers ;  and  also  such  a  model  for  our  imitation !  The 
great  Author  of  our  being  came  down  in  human  form, 


112  THE  GOSPEL. 

not  only  to  teach  us  what  is  right  and  good,  but  also  to 
show  us  how  to  perform  it. 

The  distinguishing  proof  of  goodness,  however,  in 
this  economy,  consisted  in  this — that  "  he  gave  himself 
for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity : — he 
died,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to 
God."  Through  this  sacrificial  offering  of  himself,  he 
procured  forgiveness  for  guilty  man,  in  a  way  which 
secured  the  honour  of  God  in  the  exercise  of  clemen- 
cy, by  magnifying  his  law,  and  sustaining  the  interests 
of  universal  society. 

The  peculiar  displays  of  divine  goodness  in  this  re- 
deeming plan  may  be  summed  up  in  the  following  man- 
ner: 

1.  Life  and  immortality  are  brought  to  light  through 
the  gospel  Full  assurance  is  given,  that  we  shall  live 
for  ever ;  and  that  through  Jesus  Christ  the  works  of  the 
devil  shall  be  destroyed.  Ample  provision  is  made  for 
the  renovation  of  the  soul,  for  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  from  the  dead,  and  for  our  establishment  in  the 
perfection  and  glory  of  an  endless  life. 

2.  Repentance  and  remission  of  sins  is  granted  to 
Jews  and  Gentiles.  The  chief  of  sinners  are  not  ex- 
cluded from  this  gracious  provision.  Sins  that  were 
red  like  crimson,  and  fearfully  augmented  in  number, 
and  which  exposed  the  sinner  to  the  awful  miseries  of 
perdition,  are  freely  and  fully  forgiven,  on  condition  of 
repentance,  faith  in  Christ,  and  submission  to  his  divine 
government.     To  bestow  eternal  happiness  upon  holy 


THE  GOSPEL.  113 

angels  who  never  offended,  is  pure  benevolence :  then 
what  must  it  be  to  pardon  the  guilty,  and  to  elevate  to 
the  enjoyments  of  heavenly  blessedness  those  who  de- 
served the  damnation  of  hell  ? 

3.  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  a  heavenly 
energy  from  God,  whereby  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  are 
counteracted,  our  polluted  nature  is  sanctified,  and  our 
spirits  made  "  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of 
his  might."  This  brings  an  assurance  of  the  Divine 
favour ;  for  "  the  Spirit  of  God  doth  bear  witness  with 
our  spirits,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God." 

4.  Adoption  into  the  Divine  family.  "  Behold,  what 
manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that 
we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God !  Truly,  our  fel- 
lowship is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ."  How  wonderful,  that  the  holy  God  should  take 
to  his  bosom,  in  the  most  intimate  fellowship,  those  who 
had  made  themselves  children  of  the  devil  by  wicked 
works !  The  plan  of  redemption  was  intended  to  open 
the  way  for  Him  honourably  to  do  so  ;  and  therefore 
redemption  was  a  proof  of  love  and  kindness  unutter- 
able. 

5.  The  privilege  of  becoming  joint  heirs  ivith  Christ. 
Who  is  Christ  I  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  heir 
of  all  things.  For  sinners  to  be  regenerated  and  made 
joint  heirs  with  Him,  is  an  honour  and  a  privilege  which 
no  language  can  express  ;  for  it  implies  the  full  posses- 
sion of  God,  and  of  all  God's  creation,  so  far  as  we 
shall  have  capacity  to  enjoy.     This  must  be  an  aston- 

10*  £* 


114  THE  GOSPEL. 

ishment  to  all  heaven  for  ever  and  ever ;  and  the  ground 
of  the  astonishment  is  precisely  the  length  and  breadth, 
and  depth  and  height  of  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth 
knoivledge.  When  redeemed  millions  shall  thus  he  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God,  they  will  inquire  with  inef- 
fable amazement,  Why  is  it  thus  with  us  ?  and  the  only 
answer  they  will  find  through  the  depths  of  eternal 
duration  will  be  —  there  is  none  good  but  one,  that 
is  god.  They  find  themselves  thus  honoured,  and  thus 
filled  with  all  possible  felicity,  because  unfathomable 
goodness  would  have  it  so.  The  same  kind  hand  of 
mercy  is  reached  forth  to  all  the  fallen  race ;  for  "  there 
is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God."  He  is  "  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  re- 
pentance." The  only  reason,  therefore,  why  any  are 
excluded  from  salvation,  is  that  they  "  despise  the  riches 
of  his  goodness,  and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering ; 
not  knowing  that  the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  them  to 
repentance ;  but  after  their  hardness  and  impenitent 
heart,  treasure  up  unto  themselves  wrath  against  the 
day  of  wrath,  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment 
of  God." 

The  conclusion  is  therefore  most  satisfactory  and  in- 
dubitable, that  such  an  immense  provision  for  our  glory 
and  felicity,  made  by  such  a  wonderful  process  as  the 
incarnation,  labours,  sufferings,  death,  and  resurrection 
of  the  Son  of  God,  is  a  perfect  demonstration  of  a  be- 
nevolence that  is  both  infinite  and  eternal.  The  gospel 
brings  the  truth  of  this  into  the  empire  of  sin  and 


TESTIMONY  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES.  115 

misery ;  and  evinces,  that  the  floods  of  ungodliness  and 
crime  cannot  drown  the  Divine  love,  nor  in  any  degree 
diminish  the  Almighty's  kindness  and  good-will  for  all 
creatures  that  are  capable  of  virtue  and  happiness.  It 
takes  our  "feet  out  of  a  horrible  pit,  and  out  of  the 
miry  clay,  and  sets  them  upon  a  rock."  It  "  establishes 
our  goings,  and  puts  a  new  song  in  our  mouth,  even 
praises  unto  our  God ;"  a  song  this,  which  will  never 
grow  old,  but  which  will  have  new  notes  added  to  its 
beauty,  harmony  and  glory,  while  immortality  endures. 


SECTION  V. 
Direct  Testimony  of  the  Scriptures. 

The  first  thing  revealed  in  the  Bible,  is  that  the  reve- 
lation which  it  contains  comes  from  the  Creator  of  the 
world.  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth. 

And  what  kind  of  a  work  does  the  Bible  say  our 
Creator  has  performed  ?  It  says  "  God  called  the  dry 
land  Earth ;  and  the  gathering  together  of  the  waters 
called  he  Seas :  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good.  And 
God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  it 
was  very  good."  All  that  God  made,  all  the  universe 
of  matter  and  of  mind,  was  originally  very  good  : — that 
is,  was  in  its  own  nature  calculated  to  produce  happi- 


116  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

ness,  and  nothing  else;  for  it  is  presumed  none  will 
affirm,  that  any  thing  which  naturally  produces  misery, 
is  very  good.  In  the  last  book  in  the  Bible  it  is  said — 
For  thy  pleasure  they  are,  and  were  created.  Whence 
it  follows,  that  God  intended  all  his  works  should  con- 
tribute to  happiness ;  and  he  made  them  very  good,  be- 
cause it  is  his  pleasure  that  others  with  himself  should 
have  all  possible  means  of  felicity. 

Moses  said,  /  beseech  thee,  shew  me  thy  glory.  By 
this  he  meant,  give  me  a  clear  view  of  thy  character. 
God  answered,  "  I  will  make  all  my  goodness  pass  be- 
fore thee,  and  I  will  proclaim  the  name  of  the  Lord 
before  thee."  What  was  this  ?  "  The  Lord,  the  Lord 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long  suffering  and  abun- 
dant in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands, 
forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that 
will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty."  (Exod.  xxxiii.  18  — 
xxxiv.  6,  7.)  Again :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not 
the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty 
man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in 
his  riches :  but  let  him  that  glorieth,  glory  in  this,  that 
he  understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the  Lord 
which  exercise  loving  kindness,  judgment  and  righteous- 
ness, in  the  earth :  for  in  these  things  I  delight,  saith  the 
Lord."  That  is,  I  delight  in  exercising  them  myself, 
and  in  seeing  them  exercised  by  all  others.  Is  not  this 
an  unmixed  character  of  perfect  goodness? 

Without  quoting  the  hundreds  of  passages  which  de- 
clare directly  that  God  is  a  good  Being,  let  us  attend  to 


TESTIMONY  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES.  117 

our  Saviour's  own  account  of  the  matter.  "  A  certain 
ruler  asked  him,  saying,  Good  master,  what  shall  I  do 
to  inherit  eternal  life  1  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Why 
callest  thou  me  good  1  none  is  good,  save  one,  that  is 
God."  The  ruler  addressed  him  as  a  man  only,  and  in 
that  character  he  refused  to  be  called  good ;  because, 
though  in  a  comparative  sense  there  are  good  men,  yet 
in  comparison  of  God  none  other  deserves  to  be  called 
good ;  so  full  and  perfect  is  His  goodness,  above  that 
of  all  created  beings.  "  O  righteous  Father,"  said  Jesus, 
"  the  world  hath  not  known  thee :  but  I  have  known 
thee."  (John,  xvii.  25.)  "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time ;  the  only  begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared  him."  "And  we  be- 
held his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  (John,  i.  14.)  All  true 
glory,  then,  is  contained  in  the  fulness  of  grace  and 
truth.  And  in  what  way  does  the  apostle  John  say  the 
only  begotten  Son  declared  the  Father  unto  us  ?  After 
attending  to  the  public  and  private  instructions  of  his 
Master  for  years,  he  tell  us  what  is  the  sum  total  of  the 
matter:  "  This  then  is  the  message  which  we  have  heard 
of  him,  and  declare  unto  you,  that  God  is  light,  and  in 
him  is  no  darkness  at  all."  (1  John,  i.  5.)  By  the  word 
light  he  means  a  pure  character  of  benevolence,  accord- 
ing to  his  repeated  declaration  afterwards,  that  God  is 
love. 

The  word  holiness,  as  applied  to  God,  means  the  per- 
fection of  all  moral  excellence.     He  commonly  called 


118  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

himself  The  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  is  expressly  said  to 
be  glorious  in  holiness.  Now  as  he  showed  to  Moses 
that  his  glory  consisted  in  being  abundant  in  goodness 
and  truth ;  and  as  he  is  glorious  in  holiness,  it  follows, 
that  the  word  holiness  signifies  the  abundance  of  good- 
ness and  truth.  Accordingly,  the  unceasing  song  of 
heaven  is,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty, 
which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come — Thou  art  worthy 
to  receive  glory,  and  honour,  and  power ;  for  thou  hast 
created  all  things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and 
were  created."    (Rev.  iv.  8 — 11.) 

Now  is  it  possible  for  language  to  express  any  thing 
more  clearly  than  these  inspired  writers  have  stated  the 
soul-inspiring  truth,  that  God  is  a  Being  of  an  unmixed 
character  of  perfect  goodness?  Unless  we  believe, 
therefore,  that  the  Bible  contradicts  itself,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible that  any  other  passages  in  the  same  book,  con- 
cerning wrath  or  vengeance,  or  any  thing  else,  can 
have  a  meaning  opposite  to  the  views  above  given. 
Human  language  is  equivocal ;  but  except  it  be  so  ex- 
plained as  to  leave  nothing  equivocal  in  the  character 
of  Him  who  made  us,  we  shall  find  ourselves  at  sea, 
without  a  chart  or  a  compass. 


SECTION  VI 

Religious  Experience. 

If  God  not  only  requires  us  to  do  good,  but  actually 
transforms  us,  by  the  renewing  of  our  minds,  does  not 
this  abundantly  exhibit  the  reality  of  his  own  holy  and 
gracious  disposition  1 

True  Christians  have  "  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad 
in  their  hearts,"  and  have  become  "  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature,"  by  being  "  created  anew  in  Christ 
Jesus ;"  and  they  are  reinstated  in  the  image  of  God, 
which  consists  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness.  Will 
they  not,  therefore,  with  one  mind  and  one  mouth  (or 
testimony)  *  glorify  God,  by  bearing  witness  that  his 
Spirit  inspires  them  with  universal  love  1  Their  good- 
will embraces  the  whole  family  of  man ;  while  they  feel 
themselves  constrained  to  "  lay  aside  all  malice,  and  all 
guile,  and  envies,  and  hypocrisies,  and  all  evil  speak- 
ings" Will  it  be  said  that  God  gives  them  a  charac- 
ter different  from  his  own,  in  that  very  process  which 
is  intended  to  restore  them  to  his  own  image  ?  If  not, 
then  religious  experience,  as  it  comes  from  God,  proves" 
that  he  himself  is  entirely  free  from  all  malice,  and  all 
guile : — without  partiality  and  without  hypocrisy. 

The  deeper  and  more  intimate  the  communion  is, 
which  a  Christian  enjoys  with  his  Maker,  the  more 
clear  and  full  is  the  impression  on  his  consciousness, 

(119) 


120  RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE. 

that  God  is  the  source  of  light,  and  love,  and  purity,  and 
happiness.  As  well  might  any  one  attempt  to  persuade 
him  that  he  sees  darkness  in  the  sun  at  noonday,  as  to 
try  to  make  him  believe  there  is  any  thing  else  than 
boundless  good-will  in  the  mind  of  the  Deity. 

One  of  the  disciples  said,  "  Lord,  how  is  it  that  thou 
wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world  ? 
Jesus  answered,  If  any  man  love  me,  my  Father  will 
love  him ;  and  we  will  come  and  make  our  abode  with 
him."  This  is  an  internal  manifestation  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  soul,  that  God  exercises  parental  good- 
will to  us,  and  enables  us  to  make  returns  of  senti- 
mental gratitude  and  devotion.  The  reality  of  this  in- 
ternal manifestation,  as  it  is  sometimes  given,  a  man  can 
no  more  doubt,  than  he  can  doubt  the  presence  and 
operation  of  the  solar  rays. 

But  this  spiritual  light,  it  may  be  said,  however  clear 
to  the  person  in  whom  it  resides,  affords  no  evidence 
whatever  to  others.  This  is  not  exactly  correct.  So 
far  as  persons  are  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  minds, 
and  give  evidence  of  it  by  a  corresponding  holiness  of 
life  and  conversation,  so  far  their  regenerated  charac- 
ters afford  proof  to  others,  that  they  have  been  with 
Jesus.  Hence  he  says,  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  How  will  men  glorify 
Him  ?  By  acknowledging  and  embracing  the  glory  of 
his  character,  as  it  is  thus  manifested  by  its  transform- 
ing influence  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  true  Chris- 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE.  121 

tians.  As  these  are  made  good  men  by  the  influences 
of  God,  and  are  changed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  how 
plain  and  convincing  a  proof  is  this  to  all  spectators, 
that  the  Fountain  must  be  glorious,  from  which  such 
streams  as  these  proceed ! 

It  will  avail  nothing  to  say  that  this  is  all  enthusiasm  ; 
for  so  far  as  the  men  in  question  prove  by  their  actions, 
that  they  are  men  of  strict  veracity  and  integrity,  and 
that  on  all  other  subjects  they  "  speak  forth  the  words 
of  truth  and  soberness,"  so  far  their  character  exhibits 
intelligible  and  rational  evidence,  such  as  ought  to  con- 
vince all  candid  minds,  that  they  are  not  enthusiasts. 
Their  testimony  of  God  is  every  way  worthy  of  Him ; 
for  when  they  say  God  has  done  these  great  things  for 
them,  the  uprightness  of  their  lives  proves  the  sincerity 
of  their  declaration,  and  their  utter  aversion  to  all 
falsehood  and  delusion ;  therefore  let  all  who  see  their 
good  works  yield  to  the  truth,  and  glorify  their  Father 
which  is  in  heaven. 

If  too  many  professors  live  beneath  their  privilege, 
neither  having  the  evidence  within  themselves,  nor  ex- 
hibiting the  fruits  of  it  to  others,  this  is  no  proof  that 
the  light  itself  is  not  clear ;  but  that  these  men  "  love 
darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil." 
An  atheist  sees  no  evidence  of  God  in  the  heavens ;  not 
because  there  is  none,  but  because  the  clouds  of  pride 
and  prejudice  within  him  exclude  the  evidence  from  his 
mental  discernment.  In  like  manner  a  formal  Christian 
11  f 


122  RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE. 

walketh  in  darkness,  when  he  might  have  "  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ;"  but  he  "will  not  come  to  the  light,  lest  his 
deeds  should  be  reproved." 

True  Christians  not  only  prove  the  Divine  goodness 
by  the  uprightness  of  their  lives,  but  also  by  their  com- 
posure and  confidence  in  a  dying  hour.  Thousands  of 
them  have  exhibited  clear  signs  of  exultation  in  their 
last  moments ;  and  none  were  ever  known  to  express 
regret  and  apprehension  at  that  period,  except  for  not 
having  walked  with  God  as  they  ought  to  have  done. 
Is  not  this  a  clear  experimental  proof  that  God  favours 
the  virtuous,  and  gives  them  delightful  assurances  of 
his  paternal  complacency?  None  but  a  good  Being 
would  thus  favour  the  good ;  and  therefore  the  expiring 
tranquillity  of  the  devoted  followers  of  God  is  a  closing 
demonstration  of  the  essential  excellency  of  oar  God. 

The  religion  which  is  established  in  the  soul  by  the 
influence  of  God,  is  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  with- 
out partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy.  The  more  the 
soul  becomes  like  its  Creator  in  disposition,  the  more  it 
abhors  every  species  of  deceit,  sectarian  bigotry,  injus- 
tice and  cruelty.  It  feels  a  holy  and  inexpressible 
hatred  of  sin,  and  at  the  same  time  a  glowing  love  and 
compassion  for  the  sinner.  The  regenerated  man  finds 
his  love  for  universal  happiness  to  be  the  centre  of  all 
his  desires,  purposes  and  actions ;  and  it  is  because  sin- 
ners destroy  much  good,  and  because  their  punishment 
will  be  necessary  to  protect  the  good  which  they  would 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE.  123 

otherwise  destroy,  that  he  becomes  reconciled  to  their 
punishment.  There  is  in  him  no  sentiment  of  revenge 
or  retaliation ;  and  no  feeling  of  malevolence  to  be  gra- 
tified at  another's  wo.  He  is  conscious  of  no  bitterness 
or  resentment  towards  any  oi'der  of  sinners  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  but  on  the  contrary,  is  filled  with  every  senti- 
ment and  feeling  which  would  cause  him  to  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable,  to  see  all  created  beings  "  love  the 
Lord  their  God  with  all  their  heart,"  and  enjoy  a  "  ful- 
ness of  pleasure  at  his  right  hand  for  evermore." 

The  plain  conclusion  is,  therefore,  that  as  these  men 
are  filled  with  such  sentiments  by  the  operation  of  God, 
and  as  this  influence  is  intended  to  make  them  partakers 
of  his  own  moral  image,  He  of  course  is  himself  with- 
out any  duplicity  or  contradiction,  and  with  an  infi- 
nite fulness  and  perfection,  of  the  same  invariable  dis- 
position. A  soul  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  has  there- 
by an  internal  evidence  of  the  moral  perfection  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  which  is  like  the  brilliant  demonstra- 
tions of  unclouded  sunshine;  and  to  all  eternity  will 
this  blaze  of  truth  and  love  shine  forth,  and  fill  the  hea- 
venly regions  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 

That  a  good  man,  as  he  approaches  heaven  in  dispo- 
sition and  in  prospect,  has  a  corresponding  enlargement 
of  view,  and  permanency  of  glowing  consciousness, 
that  God  is  an  uncompounded  fountain  of  loveliness,  is 
proved  by  Christian  experience  throughout  the  world. 
But  the  proof  must  be  specified  by  particular  instances. 
Let  one  suffice  to  close  the  present  section.     The  Rev. 


124  RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE. 

John  Fletcher,  who  was  one  of  the  most  devoted  and 
amiable  men  of  God  that  ever  lived  upon  earth,  preached 
a  sermon  after  being  taken  with  his  death  sickness. 
"  Mercy,"  we  are  informed,  "  was  the  subject  of  his 
discourse ;  and  while  he  expatiated  on  this  glorious  at- 
tribute of  the  Deity,  its  unsearchable  extent,  its  eternal 
duration,  and  its  astonishing  effects,  he  appeared  to  be 
carried  above  all  the  fears  and  feelings  of  mortality." 
Mrs.  Fletcher  says,  "  On  Wednesday,  he  told  me  he 
had  received  such  a  manifestation  of  the  full  meaning 
of  those  words,  God  is  love,  as  he  could  never  be  able 
to  express.  It  fills  my  heart,  said  he,  every  moment : 
— God  is  love !  Shout !  shout  aloud  !  I  want  a  gust  of 
praise  to  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth !" 

Mrs.  Fletcher  tells  us  that  "  He  always  took  a  pecu- 
liar pleasure  in  repeating  or  hearing  those  words : 

'  Jesus'  blood  through  earth  and  skies, 
Mercy,  free,  boundless  mercy,  cries !' 

Whenever  I  repeated  them  to  him,  he  would  answer, 

1  Boundless  !    boundless  !   boundless  !'     He  now  added, 

though  not  without  much  difficulty, 

1  Mercy's  full  power  I  soon  shall  prove, 
Loved  with  an  everlasting  love!'"* 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  religious  experience  illus- 
trates and  confirms  all  other  kinds  of  evidence,  in  proof 
of  th$  essential  and  unmixed  benevolence  of  the  Deity ; 
and  that  it  increases  in  brightness  and  glory,  as  the 
saints  of  God  draw  near  to  the  sublime  realities  of  im- 
mortality. 

*  Benson's  Life  of  Fletcher,  p.  367,  &c. 


PART    THIRD 


NO  PROVIDENTIAL  ACTS  OF  OUR  CREATOR,  AND 
NO  PROVISIONS  OF  HIS  MORAL  GOVERNMENT, 
WHEN  CORRECTLY  UNDERSTOOD,  AFFORD  THE 
LEAST  EVIDENCE  OF  DUPLICITY  IN  HIS  CHA- 
RACTER. 


SECTION  I. 

Varieties  of  capacity,  and  original  circumstances  of  our 
existence,  afford  no  such  evidence. 

That  man  was  not  made  a  greater,  wiser  or  stronger 
creature  than  he  was,  is  no  objection  to  Divine  good- 
ness, unless  it  can  be  proved  that  the  best  plan  possible 
would  have  been  to  create  one  order  of  creatures  only, 
endowed  with  equal  capacities.  But  there  may  arise  a 
vastly  greater  amount  of  happiness  from  a  gradation 
of  orders,  of  various  capacities,  than  from  the  plan  of 
entire  equality ;  and  this  variety  may  be  for  ever  ne- 
cessary for  the  improvement  and  welfare  of  all.  Who 
but  God  can  have  a  complete  knowledge  concerning 
the  possibilities  of  being  ?  "  Who  hath  directed  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  or  being  his  counsellor  hath  taught 

1 1  *  (125)- 


126  VARIETIES  OF  CAPACITY. 

him  ?  With  whom  took  he  counsel,  and  who  instructed 
him,  and  taught  him  in  the  path  of  judgment,  and  taught 
him  knowledge,  and  shewed  to  him  the  way  of  under- 
standing? Behold,  the  nations  are  as  a  drop  of  a 
bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  small  dust  of  the 
balance :  behold,  he  taketh  isles  as  a  very  little  thing." 
(Isa.  xl.  13.) 

Now  if  it  be  the  best  plan  to  have  various  orders  of 
creatures,  of  different  grades  and  powers,  the  contrary 
of  which  it  is  impossible  to  prove,  man  must  come  in 
somewhere ;  and  who  will  presume  that  the  Almighty 
has  put  him  in  the  wrong  place  ?  If  there  is  want  of 
goodness  in  not  placing  us  above  Angels,  what  a  great 
deficiency  of  it  must  there  have  been,  in  placing  so 
many  animals  below  us  !  "  Shall  the  thing  formed,  say 
to  him  that  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  V* 
If  he  placed  all  creatures  in  a  state  of  happiness,  the 
life  of  every  one  wras  a  distinct  proof  of  his  goodness. 

It  may  be  objected,  however,  that  there  was  a  want 
of  goodness  in  forming  us  with  a  capacity  of  pain,  or  a 
liability  to  fall  into  misery.  But  so  far  as  we  under- 
stand our  own  nature,  we  know  that  the  same  faculty 
which,  when  rightly  directed,  gives  enjoyment,  will, 
when  perverted  or  oppressed,  be  the  means  of  unhappi- 
ness.  This  is  true  of  our  senses,  of  our  appetites,  of  our 
mental  and  moral  faculties.  What  greater  source  of 
enjoyment  than  a  good  conscience  ?  And  what  misery 
on  earth  more  pungent,  than  that  which  arises  from  the 
same  moral  power  when  injured  and  oppressed  with 


VARIETIES  OF  CAPACITY.  1^7 

guilt?  The  eye,  which  is  the  medium  of  happiness  in 
a  mild  and  pleasant  light,  is  the  channel  of  affliction 
when  oppressed  with  too  strong  a  blaze.  The  ear, 
which  is  delighted  with  the  harmony  of  sounds,  is  hurt 
with  the  grating  harshness  of  jargon  and  discord.  The 
same  stomach  wrhich  affords  enjoyment  by  the  influence 
of  nourishing  food,  is  the  organ  of  pain  when  oppressed 
with  materials  that  are  unwholesome  and  poisonous. 
So  it  is  through  all  nature :  and  when  we  leave  nature 
and  experience,  in  our  attempts  to  ascertain  the  possi- 
bilities of  being,  we  are  at  once  in  a  wide  sea,  without 
a  bottom  or  a  shore.  Who  but  God  can  know  what 
capacities  are  possible,  and  among  those  that  are  possi- 
ble, which  would  furnish  the  greatest  amount  of  happi- 
ness 1  Nor  will  it  avail  any  thing  to  say  our  capacity 
for  pain  was  too  great;  for  this,  so  far  as  we  know, 
could  not  be  made  less,  without  at  the  same  time,  and 
in  the  same  proportion,  diminishing  our  capacity  for 
pleasure.  The  more  capacious  the  faculties  are  which 
a  creature  has,  the  greater  of  course  must  be  the  misery 
of  their  perversion  and  disorder. 

It  may  be  said,  again,  that  goodness  should  keep 
away  the  means  of  misery :  though  poison  may  afflict 
the  stomach,  and  discord  offend  the  ear,  yet  if  there  be 
no  poisons  and  no  discords  in  nature — if  there  be  no 
storms  of  cold,  nor  oppressive  degrees  of  heat — in  short, 
if  there  be  nothing  around  us  to  give  pain  to  our  facul- 
ties, and  every  thing  to  furnish  enjoyment,  the  mere 
capacity  to  suffer  would  do  us  ho  harm.     What  should 


128  VARIETIES  OF  CAPACITY. 

hinder  perfect  Benevolence  from  causing  this  to  be  our 
situation?  Supposing  it  were  even  so  —  still  it  would 
be  possible  for  us  to  destroy  our  own  happiness :  for 
first,  in  regard  to  our  appetites,  all  experience  proves 
that  our  well-being  depends  upon  the  quantity  as  well 
as  the  quality  of  the  materials  used ;  therefore  though 
the  qualities  of  all  substances  in  nature  were  invariably 
salutary,  yet  an  improper  quantity  might  be  productive 
of  misery.  Secondly,  in  regard  to  mental  and  moral 
happiness,  the  means  of  it  are  within  ourselves,  and  do 
not  depend  on  the  qualities  of  surrounding  nature.  If 
the  mind  itself  should  exchange  love  for  malice,  it  would 
barter  happiness  for  misery.  Thirdly,  in  regard  to  so- 
cial enjoyments,  though  a  man's  body  might  be  fanned 
with  all  the  mildness  of  the  air  of  Paradise,  though  all 
the  material  qualities  of  nature  were  exactly  suited  to 
his  constitution,  yet  the  conduct  of  his  fellow-creatures 
might  be  very  afflicting;  because  the  capacity  for  social 
pleasure,  when  crossed  and  oppressed,  becomes  the  me- 
dium of  social  pain.  The  same  mental  sensibility  which 
is  delighted  with  the  manifestation  of  friendly  affections, 
is  hurt  by  the  expressions  of  scorn  and  hostility. 

It  may  be  said,  moreover,  that  all  causes  of  misery 
might  have  been  prevented,  by  the  denial  of  agency: 
though  certain  kinds  of  conduct  would  be  productive 
of  misery,  yet  if  we  were  all  hound  to  the  right,  our 
happiness  would  then  be  safe.  Say  rather,  that  a  large 
amount  of  our  happiness  would  thereby  be  prevented ; 
for  our  consciousness  clearly  testifies,  that  mental  en- 


VARIETIES  OF  CAPACITY.  129 

joyment  depends  very  much  upon  the  free  exercise  of 
our  voluntary  powers.  Why  else  is  liberty  held  so  dear, 
all  the  world  over  ?  Is  it  not  a  plain  contradiction  to 
say  a  man  is  at  liberty,  at  the  same  time  that  his  will  is 
bound  to  one  certain  course  of  action?  And  besides, 
for  aught  we  know,  freedom  of  will  is  essential  to  intel- 
ligent existence;  so  that  the  existence  of  a  creature 
with  mental  endowments,  and  destitute  of  all  agency, 
is  as  impossible  as  for  matter  to  exist  without  occupy- 
ing space. 

The  objector  is  willing,  however,  to  have  his  liberty, 
provided  all  authority  be  removed  out  of  the  way,  that 
he  may  be  left  to  pursue  any  plan  of  conduct  he  pleases. 
And  suppose  even  this  were  granted,  who  could  tell  the 
amount  of  misery  his  voluntary  actions  would  produce 
for  himself  and  others,  in  the  course  of  future  duration  I 
"  It  is  matter  of  constant  experience  and  observation," 
says  Mr.  Watson,  "  that  every  individual  derives,  by  the 
very  constitution  of  his  nature,  benefit  and  happiness 
from  rectitude  ;  injury  and  misery  from  vice."  (pp.  221, 
367.)  "  In  the  Scriptures  we  are  taught,  in  the  clearest 
manner,"  says  Dr.  Dwight,  "  that  sin  is  an  universal 
opposition  to  God,  and  an  universal  hostility  to  his  bene- 
volent designs  ;  and  that  it  is  universally  mischievous 
to  the  well-being  of  the  sinner  himself,  and  of  his  fel- 
low-creatures." (Vol.  I.  p.  182.)  Hence  it  follows,  that 
if  the  sinner  were  unrestrained  by  authority,  his  evil 
conduct  would  nevertheless  be  productive  of  an  im- 
mense amount  of  misery  to  himself  and  others. 


130  VARIETIES  OF  CAPACITY. 

But  the  objection  may  be  pressed  still  further.  It 
may  be  inquired,  Why  did  not  God  make  us  of  such  a 
constitution,  and  place  us  in  such  circumstances,  that 
all  kinds  of  conduct  would  be  alike  productive  of  hap- 
piness ?  We  might  as  well  ask,  why  God  did  not  create 
a  kind  of  matter  that  could  exist  without  occupying 
any  part  of  space ;  for  this  would  be  no  more  impos- 
sible, than  to  change  evil  into  good. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Dwight,  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  God  himself  to  be  happy,  independently 
of  moral  rectitude.  "  It  appears  to  me  evident,"  says 
he,  "  that  the  adoption  of  truth,  or  falsehood,  by  the 
Creator,  must  be  followed  by  exactly  the  same  effects, 
which  they  produce  in  us.  An  unlimited  sense  of  ex- 
cellence on  the  one  hand,  accompanied  of  course  with 
unlimited  happiness ;  on  the  other,  a  boundless  sense  of 
l  "  >Lude,  accompanied,  for  aught  that  I  can  see,  with 
boundless  shame  and  wretchedness."  (Vol.  I.  p.  206.) 

Indeed,  the  above  objection  supposes  God  has  power 
to  change  virtue  into  vice,  and  vice  into  virtue :  that  He 
can  transform  truth  into  falsehood,  and  falsehood  into 
truth ; — misery  into  happiness,  and  happiness  into  mis- 
ery. In  other  words,  that  he  can  reconcile  contradic- 
tions and  accomplish  impossibilities. 

It  remains,  that  there  is  nothing  in  our  constitution, 
as  God  originally  formed  it,  that  is  any  impeachment 
of  Divine  Benevolence. 


SECTION  II. 

Responsibility. 

Man  having  a  conscience,  or  moral  discernment,  is 
held  accountable  for  his  conduct.  He  has  as  invincible 
a  conviction  of  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong, 
as  of  that  between  existence  and  non-existence.  With- 
out this  power,  he  would  be  deprived  of  all  the  felicity 
arising  from  moral  approbation ; — all  the  enjoyment  re- 
sulting from  a  consciousness  of  dignity  and  worth  of 
character  in  himself,  and  from  the  approbation  and  con- 
fidence of  others. 

Dr.  Dwight  says,  "  Rectitude,  the  sum  of  personal 
worth,  consists  in  rendering  voluntarily,  that  which 
others  have  a  right  to  claim.  But  on  the  scheme  of  the 
atheist,  no  claim  can  be  founded,  and  none  exists. 
There  is,  therefore,  nothing  due:  of  course,  no  duty 
can  be  performed,  and  no  rectitude  experienced.  Hence 
that  high,  unceasing,  and  refined  enjoyment,  which  at- 
tends the  sense  of  rectitude,  can  never  be  found  by  the 
atheist.  Without  confidence,  no  society,  no  friendship, 
no  union,  no  connexion,  between  intelligent  beings  can 
exist.  The  world,  dispossessed  of  it,  would  become 
an  image  of  hell ;  and  distrust,  jealousy,  wrath,  re- 
venge, murder,  war,  and  devastation,  overspread  the 
earth."  (p.  107.) 

(131) 


1 32  RESPONSI BILIT  Y. 

From  this  view  of  the  matter,  we  discover  the  im- 
portance of  our  moral  powers,  and  bow  clearly  they 
evince  the  goodness  of  our  Creator.  But  why  does 
God  hold  us  accountable  for  the  exercise  of  these  pow- 
ers ?  Why  does  he  exercise  authority  over  us  1  Is  this, 
too,  a  demonstration  of  benevolence  1  Certainly :  for 
all  social  enjoyment  depends  upon  it.  After  God  has 
formed  a  plan  of  general  happiness,  and  fitted  our  na- 
tures to  its  salutary  influence,  it  is  perfectly  gracious  in 
Him,  to  interpose  his  authority  for  its  protection,  by 
forbidding  that  conduct  which  would  introduce  a  state 
of  social  misery.  Those  who  reply  against  God  on  this 
account,  cannot  sustain  their  objection,  except  on  the 
supposition  that  the  only  thing  which  would  constitute 
the  Almighty  a  perfectly  good  Being,  would  be  for  Him 
to  allow  his  creatures  the  privilege  of  doing  wrong.  For 
their  doing  wrong  is  all  that  his  authority  forbids.  He 
prohibits  a  certain  course  of  action  because  it  is  wrong, 
and  not  in  order  thereby  to  make  it  wrong:  for  what 
form  of  language  can  more  directly  charge  God  with 
being  the  author  of  evil,  than  to  say  a  course  of  action 
was  not  evil  till  he  made  it  so  ?  To  forbid  an  action 
that  in  itself  is  good,  is  commonly  called  tyranny ;  and 
to  forbid  or  enjoin  that  which  is  indifferent,  is  that  kind 
of  conduct  in  a  luler  which  is  said  to  be  capricious; 
there  can  be  no  regard  either  to  goodness,  or  justice,  or 
wisdom,  in  the  enacting  of  such  a  law;  therefore  no 
such  law  was  ever  enjoined  on  man  by  his  Creator. 

But  why  is  an  action  wrong?     Exactly  because  it 


RESPONSIBILITY.  133 

produces  misery,  by  opposing  and  infringing  God's  plan 
of  universal  happiness.  God  requires  that  all  creatures 
act  according  to  this  plan,  that  misery  may  be  ex- 
cluded, and  happiness  be  universal  and  eternal.  "  As 
doing  good,"  says  Dr.  Dwight,  "  is  the  entire  employ- 
ment of  every  rational  being,  whose  heart,  and  labours, 
are  thus  conformed  to  the  pleasure  of  his  Maker,  the 
good  actually  done,  cannot  fail,  in  the  progress  of  the 
system,  of  becoming  immensely  great.  Where  the  joint 
labours  of  any  society  are  directed  solely  to  the  purpose 
of  producing  happiness,  these  labours,  if  wisely  directed, 
must  of  course  furnish  happiness,  proportioned  to  their 
extent,  energy,  and  duration.  Happiness  is  the  end  of 
the  whole  system.  Such  is  the  end,  which  God  pro- 
posed in  the  creation  of  man;  such  its  nature;  and 
such  its  propriety.  How  plainly  is  it  the  best  and  most 
glorious  end,  w7hich  can  be  aimed  at  by  man,  or  accom- 
plished by  his  Creator !"  (Theology,  p.  388,  389.) 

The  same  great  author  says  again,  "  The  law  of  God 
is  good,  as  well  as  just;  profitable  to  those  who  obey, 
as  well  as  honourable  to  him  who  is  obeyed.  Obedi- 
ence to  this  law  constitutes  the  only  real  wTorth  of  ra- 
tional beings ;  and  is  the  sum  of  all  those  affections,  and 
their  consequences,  which  form  the  internal  happiness 
of  man ;  the  most  essential  and  valuable  part  of  his  hap- 
piness. From  this  character,  and  from  this  alone,  spring 
the  peace  and  self-approbation,  the  internal  harmony 
and  delight,  which  are  the  proper  <  prize  of  virtue ;'  the 
independent  and  eternal  possession  of  every  good  mind. 
12 


134  RESPONSIBILITY. 

The  love,  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  is  a  vital  and 
immortal  principle  of  doing  good  to  all  men,  bom  friends 
and  enemies,  at  all  times,  and  in  every  manner.  Nor  is 
there  any  real  and  voluntary  beneficence,  beside  what 
springs  from  this  principle.  Rational  beings,  wholly 
under  its  influence,  would  form  a  perfect  state  of  hap- 
piness in  any  world  ;  and  such  beings,  freed  from  all 
restraints,  would,  if  destitute  of  it,  create  consummate 
misery.  He,  then,  who  refuses  obedience  to  the  law,  is 
guilty  of  gross  injustice  to  God,  relinquishes  all  personal 
excellence,  peace,  happiness,  and  worth ;  and,  renounc- 
ing all  voluntary  usefulness  on  the  one  hand,  prepares 
himself,  on  the  other,  to  be  a  nuisance  to  the  universe" 
(p.  460,  451.) 

Hence  arises  the  guilt  of  transgression :  it  interrupts 
the  plan  of  happiness,  and  "  creates  consummate  mise- 
ry ;?'  therefore  there  is  ill-desert  in  the  perpetrator ;  that 
is,  he  deserves  blame  and  punishment,  in  proportion  to 
the  turpitude  of  his  evil  conduct.  But  by  what  mea- 
sure, it  may  be  inquired,  are  the  degrees  of  guilt  to  be 
ascertained  ?  The  obvious  answer  appears  to  be,  that 
an  action  deserves  blame  and  punishment  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  happiness  which  it  destroys,  and  the 
amount  of  misery  which  it  produces ;  modified,  how- 
ever, by  the  knowledge  and  intention  of  the  agent.  These 
matters  are  precisely  known  by  the  Supreme  Being 
only,  and,  therefore,  he  alone  is  qualified  to  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness. 

But  on  what  ground,  and  to  what  extent,  is  it  neces- 


RESPONSIBILITY.  135 

sary  to  punish  creatures  for  their  evil  conduct  ?  It  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  counteract  the  evil,  and  to  pre- 
vent  or  to  limit  its  general  deleterious  consequences,  so 
far  as  the  punishment  of  the  culprit  may  contribute  to 
these  results.  The  necessity  of  punishment,  and  the 
justice  of  it,  are  the  same.  No  man  can  successfully 
controvert  this  position,  unless  he  can  prove  that  justice 
requires  the  infliction  of  unnecessary  punishments ;  and 
surely,  in  so  far  as  it  does  this,  it  must  be  an  unncessa- 
ry  Attribute.  Are  there  any  Attributes  of  the  Deity  of 
this  description? 

What  is  justice,  but  that  modification  of  goodness 
which  requires  that  the  flow  of  happiness  shall  not  be 
interrupted  by  a  violation  of  the  plan  on  which  it  is 
founded  1  Justice  is  the  authoritative  action  of  good- 
ness, and  nothing  more ;  at  least,  if  any  thing  else  be 
contained  in  it,  we  have  never  yet  seen  the  explanation 
and  the  proof.  If  justice  could  require  unnecessary 
punishment,  it  might  require  unnecessary  obedience,  and 
would  run  into  all  the  claims  of  the  capricious  ruler  and 
the  tyrant. 

Dr.  D wight  says,  "  That  the  omniscience  of  God  can- 
not but  discern  all  the  differences  of  good,  and  distin- 
guish, with  complete  accuracy,  and  in  all  cases,  the 
greater  from  the  less,  will  be  admitted  of  course.  That 
perfect  benevolence  must  choose  this  plan  in  preference 
to  any  other,  is  equally  evident.  Indeed,  I  conceive  of 
no  possibility,  that  benevolence  can,  in  any  being,  pre- 
fer a  smaller  degree  of  what  he  thinks  good  to  a  greater. 


136  RESPONSIBILITY. 

Much  less  can  this  be  attributable  to  God.  As  he  knows 
perfectly  what  is  really  good ;  so  on  this  only  must  his 
desire,  or  delight,  be  fixed ;  and  with  the  more  intense- 
ness  in  proportion  to  the  greatness  of  the  degree,  in 
which  it  does  or  may  exist.  The  present  system,  or 
the  system  actually  adopted  by  God,  is  therefore,  to  say 
the  least,  the  best  and  most  perfect  system  of  good." 
(pp.  189,  190.) 

Now  wTill  any  man  say  that  "  the  best  and  most  per- 
fect system  of  good"  is  that  which  contains  within  itself 
a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary  punishment  ?  This  can- 
not be ;  for  if  that  part  of  the  punishment  be  removed 
which  is  unnecessary,  the  system  will  be  better ;  other- 
wise it  would  follow,  that  misery,  in  itself,  and  for  its 
own  sake,  is  a  perfect  "  good." 

Dr.  Dwight  says  again,  "  As  God  is  benevolent,  it  is 
impossible  that  he  should  not  be  just.  The  benevolence 
of  God,  is  itself  complete  proof  of  the  justice  of  God. 
A  Being,  willing,  as  a  benevolent  one  necessarily  is,  to 
do  more  good  to  others  than  justice  demands,  cannot  be 
willing  to  do  less ;  the  only  manner  in  which  he  could 
possibly  be  unjust."  (pp.  196,  197.)  Hence  it  follows, 
that  justice  is  an  essential  modification  and  operation 
of  benevolence ;  and  therefore  unless  it  be  the  nature 
of  the  latter  to  delight  in  seeing  misery  exist  unneces- 
sarily, no  such  thing  as  unnecessary  punishment  ever 
had  or  ever  will  have  place,  under  the  administration 
of  the  Almighty. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  speaking  of  God,  says, 


RESPONSIBILITY.  137 

"  His  goodness  is  limited  by  moral  not  by  physical  rea- 
sons ;  but  still,  considering  the  globe  as  the  residence  of 
a  fallen  and  perverse  race,  that  glorious  attribute  is 
heightened  in  its  lustre  by  this  circumstance ;  it  arrays 
itself  before  us  in  all  its  affecting  attributes  of  mercy, 
pity,  long-suffering,  mitigation  and  remission.  It  is  good- 
ness poured  forth  in  the  richest  liberality,  where  moral 
order  permits  its  unrestrained  flow ;  and  it  is  never 
withheld  but  ivhere  the  general  benefit  demands  it.'  Penal 
acts  never  go  beyond  the  rigid  necessity  of  the  case ; 
acts  of  mercy  rise  infinitely  above  all  desert."  (Insti- 
tutes, p.  216.)  This  needs  no  comment;  and  the  pre- 
sent authorities  may  be  closed  with  a  quotation  from 
Mr.  Sherlock.  Speaking  of  the  General  Deluge,  he 
says,  "  Had  God  destroyed  the  whole  race  of  men,  and 
created  a  new  man,  to  inhabit  the  new  world,  this  would 
have  argued  some  defect  in  the  first  creation :  for  there 
can  be  no  pretence  for  destroying  man,  to  make  him 
again,  but  a  design  to  make  him  better ;  to  correct  that 
in  a  second,  which  experience  had  discovered  to  be 
faulty  in  the  first.  But  though  the  wisdom  of  govern- 
ment  will  admit  of  various  trials  and  experiments,  the 
wisdom  of  creation  will  not.  The  government  of  free 
agents  must  be  accommodated  to  their  natures  and  dis- 
positions, not  only  to  what  God  made  them,  but  to  what 
they  make  themselves ;  and  therefore  the  methods  of 
government  must  change,  as  men  change  themselves : 
but  the  natures  of  all  things  are  made  only  by  God ; 
and  if  there  be  any  fault  in  them,  it  is  chargeable  upon 
12*  F* 


138  RESPONSIBILITY. 

the  Divine  Wisdom ;  and  to  make  man,  and  destroy 
him,  and  make  him  again,  would  argue  a  great  fault 
somewhere."    (Divine  Providence.) 

From  the  above  quotations  it  appears,  that  man 
was  made  as  good  as  God  could  make  him ;  that  God's 
general  plan  of  creation  embraced  the  best  possible  sys- 
tem of  good ;  that  in  his  moral  administration,  no  favour 
is  withheld  from  any  one,  but  where  the  general  benefit 
demands  it ;  and  that  penal  acts  never  go  beyond  the 
rigid  necessity  of  the  case.  If  so,  what  can  any  man 
ask  more  1  Will  he  ask  to  be  free  from  responsibility 
altogether?  Then  it  is  plain  he  must  either  be  destitute 
of  life,  or  he  must  be  a  beast  And  does  it  show  wrant 
of  benevolence  in  God,  that  he  has  brought  creatures 
into  existence  with  higher  capacities  of  enjoyment  than 
those  possessed  by  irrational  animals  ? 

But  why,  it  may  be  inquired,  should  we  be  subjected 
to  such  a  serious  responsibility  '\  The  obvious  answer 
is,  that  accountability  must  be  proportioned  to  the  value 
of  the  interests  committed  to  our  trust.  He  who  had 
only  one  talent  committed  to  him,  wTas  required  to  im- 
prove one  only ;  but  he  wTho  had  five,  was  accordingly 
accountable  for  five.  Now  let  it  be  considered,  that 
man  has  immortal  faculties  to  guard,  and  to  improve. 
A  system  of  social  happiness,  extending  to  the  whole 
intelligent  universe,  and  eternal  in  its  duration,  is  com- 
mitted to  the  keeping  of  every  man,  in  proportion  to 
the  extent  of  his  ability ;  and  his  individual  conduct 
will  have  an  influence  for  good  or  for  evil,  which,  if  not 


RESPONSIBILITY.  139 

counteracted  by  the  Divine  administration,  would,  so 
far  as  we  can  see,  extend  through  the  whole  system, 
and  be  eternal  in  its  duration.  Hence  our  responsibility 
must  be  great ;  and  we  are  constrained  to  own,  that  in 
strict  propriety  of  speech,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a 
Utile  sin.  But  if  God  should  make  the  plan  of  happi- 
ness less  perfect  and  less  valuable  than  it  is,  would  He 
not  thereby  diminish  his  benevolence,  to  relieve  us  from 
so  serious  a  responsibility  1  Must  the  mental  and  moral 
faculties  of  men  and  angels  be  taken  from  them,  and 
the  whole  creation  consist  of  irrational  animals  only  ? 
Alas  !  what  must  be  the  turpitude  of  a  man  who  would 
rather  be  a  beast,  than  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  giv- 
ing an  account  of  his  conduct !  A  beast  he  cannot  be : 
he  must  either  aspire  to  the  character  and  the  society 
of  angels,  or  he  will  inevitably  sink  to  that  of  devils. 
All  the  above  objections  to  the  plan  of  Divine  goodness 
appear  to  amount  to  this,  that  man  wishes  to  have  the 
privilege  of  being  wicked,  and  desires  that  the  Almighty 
wTould  provide  for  him  an  eternal  heaven  of  sin.  If  we 
may  judge  of  the  consequences  of  sin,  as  we  witness 
them  in  the  present  world,  what  a  hell  of  misery  this 
would  necessarily  be  !  Vain  man  would  be  wise ;  and 
he  often  thinks  he  is  very  wise ;  but  it  will  be  made 
manifest  at  a  future  day,  that  all  his  cavils  against  the 
just  and  gracious  conduct  of  his  Maker  originate  either 
in  his  ignorance  and  inattention,  or  in  his  deep  corrup- 
tion and  malignity. 


SECTION  III. 
Hazardous  circumstances. — Temptation. 

It  must  be  admitted,  that  perfect  goodness  will  guard 
creatures  from  danger,  as  effectually  as  they  can  be 
guarded ;  because  an  amount  of  goodness  which  ne- 
glects to  do  this,  is  not  as  great  as  it  might  be,  and 
therefore  is  not  perfect. 

It  has  sometimes  been  considered  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise, that  Angels  should  fall,  when  they  had  no  tempter; 
but  this,  it  is  presumed,  has  resulted  from  a  mistaken 
view  of  the  nature  of  temptation.  A  certain  writer 
has  represented  its  process  to  be,  first,  a  simple  evil 
thought;  secondly,  a  strong  imagination;  thirdly,  de- 
light ;  and  lastly,  consent.  This  thought  may  arise  in  a 
person's  mind,  without  being  suggested  by  another;  and 
the  whole  process  may  follow  by  his  own  individual 
agency.  An  error  is  present  to  his  contemplation,  and 
if  this  error  be  credited,  its  influence  will  be  the  same, 
whether  originally  conceived  by  the  individual,  or  pre- 
sented by  the  agency  of  another. 

What  the  first  sin  of  fallen  angels  was,  we  know  not; 
but  we  have  strong  intimations  that  it  was  peculiarly  a 
sin  of  pride.  They  might  have  entertained  an  ambi- 
tious opinion,  that  their  own  good,  and  the  good  of  the 
universe,  would  be  promoted  by  their  assuming  a  higher 

(140) 


HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES.  141 

station.  This  at  once  supposed  that  God  had  not  placed 
them  right;  and  that  their  own  wisdom  and  energy 
were  adequate  to  improve  the  general  system.  A  re- 
fusal on  their  part  to  keep  their  first  estate,  and  a  volun- 
tary determination  to  leave  their  own  habitation,  and  to 
pursue  enterprises  in  another  department,  may  have 
threatened  to  disorganize  the  whole  plan  of  happiness, 
and  to  diffuse  misery  and  ruin  throughout  the  creation. 
Supposing  this  to  have  been  the  true  state  of  the  mat- 
ter, what  could  the  Almighty  do  to  prevent  the  evil  ? 
Could  he  do  more  than  to  warn  his  erring  creatures,  by 
telling  them  the  whole  truth  of  the  case,  so  far  as  they 
were  capable  of  receiving  it,  and  enforcing  obedience 
by  the  whole  wTeight  of  his  own  Divine  authority  ?  Will 
it  be  said  he  should  have  annihilated  his  erring  crea- 
tures, or  put  an  absolute  restraint  upon  their  agency, 
because  he  saw  they  were  going  to  do  wrong  1  But 
who  can  prove  that  such  an  act  of  administration  would 
not  have  led  to  a  greater  evil  1  .  Confidence  in  the  Su- 
preme Ruler  is  essential  to  universal  happiness  ;  and  it 
is  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  Creator  must  do  wrong, 
to  prevent  his  creatures  from  doing  so.  What  can  a 
good  ruler  do,  previous  to  transgression,  more  than  to 
instruct,  command,  persuade,  warn  and  threaten?  After 
rebellion  has  actually  taken  place,  he  can  justly  proceed 
further,  and  may  not  only  bind  or  imprison  the  offender, 
but  punish  him  as  his  crimes  deserve,  for  the  defence 
of  the  public  happiness  ;  but  to  inflict  punishment  in 
order  to  prevent  transgression,  before  it  is  committed, 


142  HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES. 

is  a  practice  unknown  to  all  righteous  jurisprudence. 
It  is  easy  to  say,  that  our  Maker  might  take  away  the 
agency  of  his  creatures,  when  he  sees  they  are  going 
wrong ;  but  to  take  away  their  agency,  would  be  to 
bind  them,  and  this  would  be  to  punish  them  previous 
to  transgression ;  for  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  a 
much  greater  punishment  could  be  inflicted  on  a  man 
or  an  angel,  than  entirely  to  take  away  his  agency. 
And  whether  indeed  it  would  be  possible,  for  agency 
to  be  entirely  taken  away,  without  the  destruction  of 
our  mental  existence,  is  a  matter  which  may  well  pro- 
duce doubt  and  hesitation. 

Now  it  appears  to  be  evident  that  creatures,  however 
innocent  and  pure,  who  exercise  their  minds  without 
any  constraint,  may  originate  pride,  unbelief,  dissatis- 
faction with  their  condition,  and  other  mental  evils, 
from  the  voluntary  exercise  of  their  own  thoughts ;  and 
hence  they  may  resolve  upon  courses  of  action  that  are 
wrong.  The  great  difficulty  of  accounting  for  the  ori- 
gin of  moral  evil  has  arisen  chiefly  from  the  doctrine 
which  has  been  so  firmly  settled  in  the  minds  of  thou- 
sands, that  all  events  are  brought  about  by  the  eternal 
and  immutable  decree  of  God ;  that  creatures  are  not 
free  agents,  but  always  act  as  something  necessarily 
operates  upon  the  will,  like  the  force  of  water  when  it 
produces  the  motion  of  a  mill-wheel.  On  this  supposi- 
tion, the  origin  of  evil  is  indeed  a  great  mystery :  for  it 
supposes  that  evil  must  be  put  into  the  -mind,  to  impel 
the  will,  before  a  creature  can  be  capable  of  doing  any 


HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES.  143 

thing  amiss.  Then  who  first  put  that  evil  into  the  cre- 
ated mind,  but  the  Creator  himself?  So  long  as  we 
keep  this  hypothesis  at  the  bottom  of  our  inquiries,  in 
vain  may  we  try  to  clear  up  the  mystery ;  for  the  fur- 
ther we  advance,  the  greater  and  thicker  will  the  diffi- 
culties surround  us ;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  we  shall  find 
no  stopping  place  on  this  side  of  perfect  atheism ! 

But  admit  that  intelligent  creatures  are  really  agents, 
a  truth  which  is  proved  by  the  clear  testimony  of 
consciousness,  and  then  the  mystery  of  original  sin 
amounts  only  to  this — that  a  free  agent  acted  wrong 
when  he  ought  to  have  acted  right,  by  imbibing  the 
vain  delusion,  that  he  would  thereby,  in  some  way  or 
other,  better  his  condition. 

We  find  it  to  be  true,  in  regard  to  men,  and  for  aught 
we  knowT  it  is  equally  true  of  angels,  that  they  are  liable 
to  be  enticed  into  evil  by  their  appetites  and  senses. 
The  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and 
desirable  to  make  one  wise ;  and  she  took  thereof,  and 
did  eat.  The  desires  of  the  mind,  for  knowledge,  esteem 
and  power,  may  be  viewed  as  internal  appetites ;  those 
connected  with  the  body,  as  external.  The  interna],  it 
cannot  be  doubted,  belong  to  angels  as  well  as  men ; 
and  may  have  a  like  tendency  to  lead  them  into  evil. 
Here  an  objector  may  at  once  exclaim,  Why  did  God 
make  us  with  such  a  constitution,  and  thus  implant  the 
causes  of  temptation  in  the  very  centre  of  our  existence? 
Let  him  reflect  a  few  minutes  upon  another  question : 
How  would  it  be  possible  for  us  to  enjoy  the  good  gifts 


144  HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES. 

of  heavpn  without  appetites  ?  Could  we  enjoy  food,  or 
water,  or  any  thing  else,  if  we  had  no  appetite  for  one 
thing  or  another  1  Could  a  man  have  any  enjoyment 
in  knowledge,  or  in  the  esteem  of  others,  if  he  had  no 
desire,  or  mental  appetite,  for  these  things. 

"  In  any  supposable  world,"  says  Dr.  Dwight,  "  plea- 
sure may  of  course  attend  transgression ;  because  good 
may  and  must  exist,  (if  good  exist  at  all)  which  cannot 
be  lawfully  enjoyed.  The  good,  which  lawfully  belongs 
only  to  others,  may  be  seen,  coveted,  and  seized ;  and 
thus  for  the  time  enjoyed.  Finite  beings  may,  there- 
fore, be  induced  by  the  present  prospect  of  this  pleasure 
to  transgress;  or  in  other  words,  to  sin.  It  has  net 
hitherto  been  shown,  I  presume  it  cannot  be  shown,  that 
God  is  by  his  perfections  obliged  to  prevent  the  exist- 
ence of  Moral  Evil,  originated  in  this  manner,  nor  of 
natural  evil,  as  its  proper  punishment.  Should  it  be 
said,  that  the  perfections  of  God  cannot  fail  to  operate 
in  such  a  manner,  as  to  produce  the  greatest  good ;  I 
acknowledge  it.  Still  it  cannot  be  proved,  nor  be  ren- 
dered in  any  degree  probable,  that  the  greatest  possible 
good  will  not  be  found  in  a  system,  into  which  evil  has 
admission."     (Theology,  pp.  116,  117.) 

A  system  which  would  make  the  entrance  of  moral 
evil  impossible,  would  of  course  exclude  all  the  happi- 
ness of  free  agency ;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  all  the 
happiness  of  intelligence.  Animal  appetite  might  exist 
in  such  a  system,  and  animal  instinct;  but  how  finite 


HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES.  145 

intelligent  agents  could  exist,  without  the  power  to  do 
wrong,  is  incomprehensible. 

"  From  our  natural  and  original  need  of  being  im- 
proved by  discipline,"  says  Bishop  Butler,  "  it  comes  to 
pass  that  creatures,  made  upright,  fall ;  and  that  those 
who  preserve  their  uprightness,  raise  themselves  to  a 
more  secure  state  of  virtue.  It  seems  distinctly  con- 
ceivable from  the  very  nature  of  particular  affections 
or  propensions.  For,  suppose  creatures  intended  for 
such  a  particular  state  of  life,  for  which  such  propen- 
sions were  necessary ;  suppose  them  endued  with  such 
propensions,  together  with  moral  understanding,  as  well 
including  a  practical  sense  of  virtue  as  a  speculative 
perception  of  it ;  and  that  all  these  several  principles, 
both  natural  and  moral,  forming  an  inward  constitution 
of  mind,  were  in  the  most  exact  proportion  possible, 
i.  e.  in  a  proportion  the  most  exactly  adapted  to  their 
intended  state  of  life;  such  creatures  would  be  made 
upright,  or  finitely  perfect.  Now,  particular  propen- 
sions, from  their  very  nature,  must  be  felt,  the  objects 
of  them  being  present,  though  they  cannot  be  gratified 
at  all,  or  not  with  the  allowance  of  the  moral  principle. 
But  if  they  can  be  gratified  without  its  allowance,  or 
by  contradicting  it,  then  they  must  be  conceived  to  have 
some  tendency,  in  how  low  a  degree  soever,  yet  some 
tendency,  to  induce  persons  to  such  forbidden  gratifica- 
tion. The  least  voluntary  indulgence  in  forbidden  cir- 
cumstances, though  but  in  thought,  will  increase  this 
wrong  tendency,  and  may  increase  it  further,  till,  pecu- 
13  g 


146        HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES. 

liar  conjunctures  perhaps  conspiring,  it  becomes  effect ; 
and  danger  of  deviating  from  right,  ends  in  actual  de- 
viation from  it.  Now,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  how  much 
even  the  first  full  overt  act  of  irregularity  might  disor- 
der the  inward  constitution,  unsettle  the  adjustments, 
and  alter  the  proportions  which  formed  it,  and  in  which 
the  uprightness  of  its  make  consisted.  But  repetition 
of  irregularities  would  produce  habits:  and  thus  the 
constitution  would  be  spoiled,  and  creatures,  made  up- 
right, become  corrupt  and  depraved  in  their  settled 
character.  But,  on  the  contrary,  these  creatures  might 
have  improved  and  raised  themselves  to  a  higher  and 
more  secure  state  of  virtue,  by  the  contrary  behaviour, 
by  steadily  following  the  moral  principle.  For,  by  thus 
preserving  their  integrity  for  sonte  time,  their  danger 
would  lessen,  since  propensions,  by  being  inured  to  sub- 
mit, would  do  it  more  easily  and  of  course ;  and  their 
security  against  this  lessening  danger  would  increase, 
since  the  moral  principle  would  gain  additional  strength 
by  exercise ;  both  which  things  are  implied  in  the  notion 
of  virtuous  habits.  Thus,  virtuous  self-government  is 
not  only  right  in  itself,  but  also  improves  the  inward 
constitution  or  character."     (Analogy,  pp.  141,  142.) 

All  persons,  indeed,  who  have  fairly  tried  the  experi- 
ment, know  that  virtuous  acts  acquire  the  advantage  of 
habit;  the  more  the  principles  of  moral  goodness  are 
contemplated  by  the  mind,  and  adhered  to  by  the  will, 
the  more  firmly  do  they  become  seated  and  fixed  in  the 
conscience  and  affections ;  and  the  greater  and  more 


HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES.  147 

sublime  is  the  enjoyment  which  they  furnish.  In  this 
way,  it  is  probable,  all  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  have 
become  confirmed  in  goodness,  after  having  passed 
through  a  suitable  state  of  instruction  and  discipline. 
We  must  sustain  the  views  above  given,  by  another 
authority. 

"  Some  men's  great  quarrel  is,"  says  Mr.  Sherlock, 
"  that  God  made  such  a  creature  as  could  sin,  and  be 
miserable ;  that  is,  that  God  created  Angels  and  Men ; 
that  he  endowed  them  with  reason  and  understanding, 
and  a  liberty  of  choice;  for  such  creatures  as  can 
choose,  may  choose  wrong.  What  is  it  then  they  find 
fault  with  in  God's  making  Angels  and  Men  1  Is  not 
the  idea  of  a  reasonable  Being,  and  a  free  Agent, 
the  idea  of  an  excellent  and  a  happy  Creature  ?  Are 
there  any  greater  perfections  than  knowledge,  and  wis- 
dom, and  understanding,  and  liberty  of  choice  ?  Is 
there  any  happiness  like  the  happiness  of  a  reasonable 
nature  1  Nay,  is  there  any  thing  that  deserves  the 
name  of  happiness  besides  this  1  Will  you  call  sense- 
less Matter,  nay,  will  you  call  Beasts  happy  1  And  is 
the  only  idea  of  a  happy  nature  in  the  world,  a  reason- 
able objection  against  creating  Goodness  Vs  (On  Divine 
Providence,  p.  273.) 

The  same  author  says,  again,  "  To  make  a  reasona- 
ble creature  without  liberty  of  choice,  is  a  contradic- 
tion :  for  what  does  reason  serve  for,  but  to  direct  our 
choice  \  And  indeed  all  the  pleasures  of  virtue,  which 
are  the  greatest  pleasures  of  human  nature,  result  from 


148  HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES. 

this  liberty,  that  we  choose  well  when  we  might  have 
chosen  ill ;  and  if  it  becomes  a  God  to  make  a  happy 
nature,  it  becomes  him  to  make  a  reasonable  and  free 
Agent,  though  many  such  creatures  may  make  them- 
selves miserable."    (p.  275.) 

In  regard  to  Adam's  peculiar  state  of  trial  in  Para- 
dise, the  sneers  of  infidelity  are  ridiculous.  It  was  a 
plan  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  to  set  the  agency 
of  this  new-made  creature  into  action,  in  a  way  per- 
fectly corresponding  with  his  nature,  and  suited  to  his 
infant  existence.  The  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil  was  planted  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  by  the 
hand  of  parental  kindness ;  not,  indeed,  to  furnish  food 
for  their  sustenance,  like  the  other  trees  of  the  garden ; 
but  as  a  monument  of  Divine  authority,  and  a  perpetual 
remembrancer  of  Adam's  subjection,  and  responsibility 
to  the  great  Author  of  his  life  and  happiness.  This  was 
intended  to  produce  a  wholesome  moral  influence  on 
the  mind,  which  was  a  matter  of  higher  importance 
than  merely  supplying  the  wants  of  the  body.  The 
tree  in  the  midst- of  the  garden  was  a  standing  monitor, 
visibly  calling  to  remembrance  Adam's  benign  Creator 
and  Benefactor.  The  majesty  of  God  was  stamped 
upon  it,  as  the  sacred  property  of  heaven,  and  man  was 
forbidden  to  take  it  at  the  peril  of  his  life.  By  eating 
this  fruit  he  set  his  Creator  at  defiance,  cast  off  his 
authority,  and  renounced  his  moral  government.  In 
this  act  there  was  unbelief,  distrust  of  God,  self-suffi- 
ciency, and  a  hostile  declaration  of  independence ;  and 


HAZARDOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES.        149 

hence  the  foundation  was  laid  for  perpetual  war  against 
God,  and  consequently  against  the  system  of  universal 
happiness. 

Had  our  first  parents  maintained  their  ground,  their 
victory  over  the  devil  would  have  had  results,  in  all 
probability,  of  great  moral  importance  to  the  universe. 
Their  Maker  placed  them  within  the  reach  of  tempta- 
tion, not  that  they  should  sin,  but  that  they  should  stem 
the  torrent,  and  "  overcome  evil  with  good." 

"  God  never  tempted  any  man."  Why  then  does  he 
place  men  in  circumstances  where  he  knows  they  must 
and  will  be  tempted  1  He  does  so  that  they  may  exer- 
cise their  agency  in  resisting  evil,  in  order  to  its  subju- 
gation. Who  was  ever  placed  in  circumstances  of 
greater  temptation  than  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  Did 
the  Father  place  him  there  in  order  that  he  might  be 
led  into  sin  1  Just  the  contrary :  he  placed  him  there 
to  resist  and  overcome  the  power  of  evil,  and  to  "  de- 
stroy the  works  of  the  devil."  The  mild  but  magnani- 
mous Redeemer  faced  the  evil  with  heavenly  resolution, 
and  his  "  fury  it  upheld  him,  even  to  the  death  of  the 
cross."  This  whole  process  was  the  steady  course  of 
love  resisting  malice,  or  virtuous  energy  "  overcoming 
evil  with  good " — the  only  way  in  which  it  ever  can  be 
overcome.  This  great  Captain  of  our  salvation  calls 
all  his  servants  to  fight  under  the  same  banner,  and 
with  the  same  weapons.  He  knows  they  will  have 
powerful  temptations:  yet  he  himself  does  not  tempt 
them  to  sin ;  but  on  the  contrary  encourages  and  siim- 
13* 


150  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

ulates  them  to  resist  it,  if  necessary,  even  unto  blood ; 
that  under  his  divine  protection  and  guidance  they  may 
fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  conquer  hell,  and  lay  hold 
on  eternal  life.  Evil  is  abroad  in  the  universe,  and  it 
must  be  overcome  by  the  action  of  virtuous  love ;  hence 
virtuous  beings,  while  conflicting  with  evil,  must  face 
the  storm  of  temptation ;  and  so  far  as  the  armies  of 
the  living  God  maintain  their  steady  course  of  virtuous 
energy,  so  far  the  powers  of  evil  are  weakened  and 
driven  back.  Captives  are  taken  from  the  enemy,  by 
the  armoury  of  heaven ;  and  the  hosts  of  hell  are  pro- 
portionably  diminished  and  intimidated.  Hence  we  see, 
that  the  action  of  God,  and  that  of  the  devil,  are  pre- 
cisely opposite :  God  only  tempts  men  to  resist  and  con- 
quer sin,  while  the  devil  tempts  them  to  surrender  them- 
selves to  its  influence,  and  to  become  its  abject  slaves. 


SECTION  IV. 

The  Fall  and  consequent  Misery  of  Man. 

Wherefore,  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin;  so  death  hath  passed  upon 
all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.    (Rom.  v.  12.) 

"  This  doctrine,  it  must  be  acknowledged,"  says  Dr. 
Dwight,  "  is  connected  with  many  things  very  mysteri- 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  151 

ous,  and  very  perplexing.  These,  adding  embarrass- 
ment to  reluctance,  have,  in  many  instances,  persuaded 
men  to  refuse  the  doctrine,  in  spite  of  the  testimony  of 
experience  and  Revelation.  For  myself,"  he  continues, 
"  I  readily  confess,  that  if  I  saw  any  mode  of  avoiding 
the  evidence  by  which  it  is  established  I  would  cer- 
tainly reject  it  also."  (p.  435.) 

That  man  is  a  sinful  creature  by  nature,  appears  to 
be  established  by  as  incontestable  facts,  as  that  a  wolf 
is  naturally  voracious,  or  that  a  roaring  lion  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  The  strong  bent 
of  the  mind  to  wickedness  does  not  indeed  show  itself 
in  infancy  ;  neither  does  the  savage  fierceness  of  a  tiger 
exhibit  itself  when  the  animal  is  quite  young ;  but  it  is 
as  true  that  Adam's  children  naturally  grow  up  into  the 
love  of  sin,  as  it  is  that  beasts  of  prey  grow  up  into  an 
increasing  thirst  for  blood.  For  any  man  to  deny  this 
position,  appears  to  be  about  as  bold  and  reckless  a  de- 
fiance of  common  sense,  and  common  observation,  as 
it  would  be  to  deny  that  mankind  are  naturally  subject 
to  bodily  disease  and  death. 

From  this  deplorable  condition  of  fallen  humanity, 
the  inference  is  clear,  that  there  is  a  malignant  poison 
in  sin,  calculated  to  astonish  the  whole  creation.  Sin 
diffuses  a  deleterious  influence,  not  only  through  the 
faculties  of  the  individual  sinner,  and  through  surround- 
ing society,  but  down  to  the  latest  generations  of  pos- 
terity !  Dr.  Dwight  may  well  call  this  a  mystery ;  and 
it  is  truly  and  emphatically  The  mystery  of  iniquity. 


152  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

Moral  evil  sends  its  soul- withering  venom  through  all 
the  departments  of  created  existence ;  it  defiles  the  foun- 
tain, and  corrupts  all  the  descending  streams  of  huma- 
nity; and  then  it  lifts  its  brazen  front  to  heaven,  and 
assumes  the  attitude  of  defiance  against  the  throne  and 
majesty  of  God ! 

But  why  is  it  that  Divines,  for  hundreds  of  years, 
have  found  this  doctrine  to  be  so  "  very  perplexing  V 
Exactly  because  they  have  not  admitted  that  the  misery 
produced  is  really  and  essentially  in  the  nature  of  sin  ; 
but  that  it  is  to  be  resolved  into  the  predestination,  or 
vengeance,  or  imputation  of  our  Creator.  The  subject 
must  indeed  be  perplexing,  sufficiently  so  to  lead  us  into 
atheism,  while  we  suppose  sin  was  no  very  great  evil 
till  the  Almighty  was  pleased  to  make  it  a  great  evil. 
This  is  the  gordian  knot,  which  has  tied  down  and  ham- 
pered the  human  understanding,  and  has  had  the  chief 
influence  for  centuries  in  confusing  our  conceptions  of 
religious  doctrine.  But  let  the  truth  be  understood  cor- 
rectly, and  it  will  be  seen  that  in  sin  itself  lies  all  the 
evil,  and  all  the  destructiveness ;  and  that  God  is  light, 
and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all. 

The  increased  violence  of  appetite,  the  rage  of  evil 
propensity,  and  consequent  hazard  of  the  soul,  have 
been  produced  partly  by  the  original  transgression,  and 
partly  by  the  voluntary  conduct  of  every  sinner,  which 
increases  the  depravity  of  his  nature.  God  is  so  far 
from  being  the  Author  of  these  things,  that  he  does 
every  thing  to  restrain  the  wicked,  and  to  guard  them 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  153 

from  evil,  that  wisdom  and  goodness  can  do.  Sinners 
regularly  nourish  and  strengthen  the  evil  tendencies  of 
their  nature,  from  childhood  to  manhood,  and  then  turn 
about  and  blame  God  for  putting  into  their  constitution 
causes  of  temptation  which  they  cannot  overcome ! 

And  besides,  what  natural  appetite  or  propensity  is 
there,  which  can  be  urged  in  palliation  of  such  crimes 
as  profane  cursing,  swearing,  and  blaspheming  the  name 
of  God  ?  We  sometimes  hear  boys  of  ten  or  twelve 
years  old  insulting  heaven  in  this  manner,  as  though 
they  were  firmly  settled  in  the  resolution,  so  soon  as 
they  learn  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  to  let  the  universe 
know  that  He  shall  be  the  object  of  their  eternal  con- 
tempt. From  such  beginnings  of  juvenile  wickedness, 
a  terrible  harvest  overspreads  the  globe ;  which,  emp- 
tying its  inhabitants,  sends  forth  vast  and  mournful 
accessions  to  the  world  of  wo. 

Such  facts  as  these  prove  indubitably,  that  the  wick- 
edness of  mankind  arises,  not  merely  from  the  violence 
of  fleshly  temptation,  but  from  a  deep  and  inexcusable 
hatred  of  God  and  of  all  goodness.  They  treat  their 
Maker  with  scorn  and  derision ;  and  seem  at  a  loss  for 
language,  with  which  to  show  their  contempt  for  his 
authority !  While  "  the  wicked"  thus  "  contemn  God," 
they  also  hate  and  torment  one  another.  What  is  the 
general  history  of  all  ages  and  all  countries,  but  a  his- 
tory of  ambition,  deceit,  rage,  malignity  and  devasta- 
tion 1  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  combination 
of  demons  could  manifest  a  much  greater  amount  of 


154  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

dark  hypocrisy  and  intrigue,  of  tyranny,  tumult,  and 
blood-thirsty  malevolence,  than  we  find  exhibited  and 
detailed  almost  through  the  entire  history  of  Adam's 
apostate  race. 

Now  it  may  be  asked,  how  is  it  conceivable  that  a 
good  God  should  be  the  author  of  such  a  bad  world  as 
this  ?  Why  does  he  not  prevent  all  this  wickedness  ? 
He  might  prevent  it,  to  be  sure,'  by  either  drowning  all 
mankind,  or  by  burning  up  the  world  with  fire.  Or  he 
might  build  penitentiaries  all  around  the  globe,  and 
confine  all  sinners,  each  in  his  own  appointed  cell ;  but 
even  this  would  not  destroy  the  wickedness  of  their 
souls ;  and  thousands  and  millions  of  them  would  pro- 
bably continue  to  curse  him  to  his  face,  as  they  did 
before. 

The  apostle  says,  the  reason  why  God  does  not  hurry 
the  world  to  judgment,  is  that  he  is  "  long-suffering 
toward  us,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that 
all  should  come  to  repentance."  He  may,  at  the  same 
time,  be  teaching  a  lesson  to  a  vastly  extensive  Uni- 
verse ;  and  may  be  instructing  mankind  also,  and  pre- 
paring the  way  to  effect  a  universal  reformation  in  they 
race  of  Adam,  during  future  ages,  without  doing  vio- 
lence to  any  person's  agency.  By  degrees,  and  after  a 
long  course  of  painful  experience,  the  stupid  creatures 
may  perad venture  be  prevailed  on  to  consider,  and  to 
surrender  to  the  mild  reign  of  Eternal  Love.  It  is 
great  folly  and  presumption  to  cast  reflections  either  on 
the  wisdom  or  goodness  of  God  on  account  of  his  suf- 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  155 

fering  evil  to  rage  as  it  does  in  this  part  of  the  crea- 
tion :  for  He  has  immensity  under  his  superintendency, 
and  has  an  eternity,  in  which  to  accomplish  his  infinite 
designs. 

But  it  may  be  objected,  that  our  state  of  trial  in  this 
world,  surrounded  as  we  are  by  so  much  evil  example, 
and  having  within  ourselves  a  depraved  nature,  renders 
it  morally  impossible  to  be  virtuous ;  especially  as  we 
come  into  life  ignorant  of  ourselves  and  of  every  thing 
about  us ;  therefore  our  present  state  of  probation  for 
eternity  is  inconsistent  with  perfect  benevolence.  This 
objection  may  be  answered  in  the  three  ways  following- 
First,  the  plea  of  ignorance  is  set  up  with  a  very  ill 
grace  by  mankind ;  for  one  of  the  most  astonishing 
events  in  nature,  and  one  of  the  most  general  and  inex- 
cusable crimes,  is  a  heedless  and  obstinate  course  of 
inconsideration.  The  Gospel  may  invite,  the  Law  may 
thunder,  Providence  may  smite  them — Heaven,  Earth 
and  Hell  may  be  in  motion  to  arouse  mankind  into 
thoughtfulness ;  and  still,  they  will  not  consider.  They 
then  have  the  effrontery  to  say  the  Almighty  is  deficient 
in  goodness,  because  he  leaves  them  in  a  state  of  igno- 
rance !  And  with  the  next  breath,  perhaps,  they  change 
their  ground,  and  pretend  that  they  are  too  wise  to 
receive  instruction,  even  from  God  himself ! 

Secondly,  there  would  be  weight  in  the  above  objec- 
tion, if  our  great  Sovereign  should  make  a  stern  demand 
of  abstract  righteousness,  and  deal  with  every  one  upon 
the  absolute  principles  of  inexorable  law  ;  but  the  whole 


156  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

force  of  it  is  broken  by  the  consideration,  that  the  gates 
of  mercy  are  standing  open  night  and  day,  and  that 
through  the  plan  of  redemption  God  bears  long  with  us, 
and  grants  us  the  privilege,  if  we  will  repent,  of  receiv- 
ing a  free  and  full  pardon. 

Thirdly,  the  deep  trials,  conflicts,  and  hazards  of  our 
present  condition,  may  be  seen  by  our  Maker  to  be  ne- 
cessary to  our  ultimate  and  final  establishment  in  eter- 
nal happiness ;  and  the  lessons  which  we  learn  in  this 
stormy  wilderness,  it  is  likely,  will  be  advantageously 
remembered  by  us,  for  ever  and  ever. 

"  Upright  creatures,"  says  Bishop  Butler,  "  may  want 
to  be  improved;  depraved  creatures  want  to  be  renewed. 
Education  and  discipline,  which  may  be  in  all  degrees 
and  sorts  of  gentleness  and  severity,  are  expedient  for 
those ;  but  must  be  absolutely  necessary  for  these.  For 
these,  discipline,  of  the  severer  sort  too,  and  in  the  higher 
degrees  of  it,  must  be  necessary,  in  order  to  wear  out 
vicious  habits;  to  recover  their  primitive  strength  of 
self-government,  which  indulgence  must  have  weaken- 
ed ;  to  repair,  as  well  as  raise  into  habit,  the  moral  prin- 
ciple, in  order  to  their  arriving  at  a  secure  state  of  vir- 
tuous happiness. 

"  Now,  whoever  will  consider  the  thing  may  clearly 
see,  that  the  present  world  is  peculiarly  fit  to  be  a  state 
of  discipline  for  this  purpose,  to  such  as  will  set  them- 
selves to  mend  and  improve.  For,  the  various  tempta- 
tions with  which  we  are  surrounded ;  our  experience 
of  the  deceits  of  wickedness ;  having  been  in  many  in- 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  157 

stances  led  wrong  ourselves ;  the  great  viciousness  of 
the  world  ;  the  infinite  disorders  consequent  upon  it ;  our 
being  made  acquainted  with  pain  and  sorrow,  either 
from  our  own  feeling  of  it,  or  from  the  sight  of  it  in 
others :  these  things,  though  some  of  them  may  indeed 
produce  wrong  effects  upon  our  minds,  yet,  ivhen  duly 
reflected  upon,  have  all  of  them  a  direct  tendency  to 
bring  us  to  a  settled  moderation  and  reasonableness  of 
temper;  the  contrary  both  to  thoughtless  levity,  and 
also  to  that  unrestrained  self-will,  and  violent  bent  to 
follow  present  inclination,  which  may  be  observed  in 
undisciplined  minds.  In  short,  that  kind  and  degree  of 
experience  which  the  present  state  affords  us,  hath  a 
tendency  to  give  a  practical  sense  of  things  very  differ- 
ent from  a  mere  speculative  knowledge,  that  we  are 
liable  to  vice,  and  capable  of  misery.  And  who  knows, 
whether  the  security  of  creatures  in  the  highest  and 
most  settled  state  of  perfection,  may  not,  in  part,  arise 
from  their  having  had  such  a  sense  of  things  as  this, 
formed,  and  habitually  fixed  within  them,  in  some  state 
of  probation  ?  The  snares  and  temptations  of  vice,  are 
what  render  the  present  world  peculiarly  fit  to  be  a  state 
of  discipline  to  those  who  w7ill  preserve  their  integrity ; 
because  they  render  being  upon  our  guard,  resolution, 
and  the  denial  of  our  passions,  necessary  in  order  to 
that  end.  And  the  exercise  of  such  self-government, 
in  the  practice  of  virtue,  has,  from  the  make  of  our  na- 
ture, a  peculiar  tendency  to  form  habits  of  virtue,  and 
14 


158  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

a  more  intense  exercise  of  the  virtuous  principle."  (An- 
alogy of  Religion,  pp.  144,  145.) 

Let  not  such  thoughts  as  these  be  called  vain  specu- 
lations; for  nothing  can  be  justly  viewed  in  that  light 
which  has  a  tendency  to  remove  or  refute  objections 
against  the  goodness  of  our  Creator.  We  are  apt  to 
think  he  deals  hardly  with  us ;  but  did  we  understand, 
as  He  does,  how  necessary  this  discipline  is  to  our 
secure  establishment  in  eternal  happiness,  in  what  a  dif- 
ferent light  would  his  dispensation  appear ! 

Such  views  are  abundantly  sustained  by  the  clear 
testimony  of  revelation.  When  our  Father  chastens 
us,  it  is  for  our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of  his 
holiness.  When  our  faith  is  tried,  even  as  by  fire,  this 
is  done  that  it  may  be  found  unto  praise,  and  honour, 
and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ.  Blessed  is 
the  man  that  endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried, 
he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life  which  the  Lord  hath 
promised  to  them  that  love  him.  Tribulation  worketh 
patience,  &c.  And  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for 
a  moment,  ivorkethfor  us  afar  more  exceeding  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  Infinite  Wisdom  saw  it 
was  better  to  suffer  the  world  to  be  peopled  by  fallen 
Adam,  under  a  system  of  redeeming  grace,  than  to  cut 
him  off,  and  people  the  world  by  another  created  pair; 
therefore  the  wise  Creator  resolved  upon  this  course, 
notwithstanding  the  immense  abounding  of  sin  which  he 
foresaw  would  follow,  that  he  might  give  a  great  lesson 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  159 

to  the  whole  Universe,  and  overrule  and  counteract  the 
evil,  for  the  production  and  security  of  a  vast  amount 
of  glory  and  everlasting  happiness. 

The  most  perplexing  part  of  this  subject,  is  the  depth 
and  violence  of  that  corruption  of  nature  which  we  have 
derived  from  the  fall  of  Adam.  But  this  matter  has 
been  distorted  and  obscured  by  being  connected  with 
false  doctrines. 

First,  it  has  been  represented  that  this  evil  disease 
has  been  brought  upon  Adam's  posterity  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Creator  himself;  that  original  corruption, 
or  the  strong  bias  to  evil  in  man,  is  a  spiritual  death, 
judicially  inflicted  on  all  Adam's  posterity  for  the  first 
offence. 

Secondly,  that  Adam's  guilt  has  been  transferred  to 
his  children,  by  imputation,  whereby  they  are  rendered 
culpable,  and  are  exposed  to  eternal  punishment  for  his 
sin. 

Or  thirdly,  that  the  original  corruption  of  their  nature 
renders  them  guilty,  and  exposes  them  to  eternal  punish- 
ment. If  this  depravity  is  itself  spiritual  death,  judi- 
cially inflicted  on  them,  then  it  seems  the  infliction  of 
one  penalty  makes  them  guilty,  and  exposes  them  to 
another  penalty !     Hence  it  has  been  supposed, 

Fourthly,  that  if  a  Saviour  had  not  appeared,  the 
whole  race  of  mankind,  from  the  days  of  Adam  to  the 
general  conflagration,  would  have  gone  regularly  into 
an  eternal  hell,  without  the  possibility  of  any  soul  es- 
caping.   Now  to  common  sense  this  would  be  the  same 


160  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

thing  as  for  all  mankind  to  have  been  born  in  hell,  or 
placed  there  at  the  first  moment  of  their  existence.  No 
marvel  if  this  view  of  the  subject  should  be  "perplex- 
ing;" for  it  would  destroy  every  attribute  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  and  would  be  infinitely  more  reproachful 
to  him,  than  it  would  for  him  to  have  blown  out  the  sun 
and  all  the  stars  of  heaven,  before  Adam  was  spoken 
into  life.  » 

Had  no  Saviour  been  provided,  it  may  be  presumed 
that  the  guilty  pair  would  have  been  called  immediately 
to  judgment,  and  punished  according  to  their  works. 
As  a  Saviour  was  provided,  Adam  and  Eve  were 
placed  in  a  gracious  state  of  probation,  and  all  their 
children  are  born  into  the  same  state.  Those  of  them 
who  die  in  infancy  gain  more  in  the  second  Adam  than 
they  lost  in  the  first ;  the  effects  of  the  fall  are  removed 
from  their  souls,  and  a  future  resurrection  secured  for 
their  bodies ;  "  for  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall 
all  be  made  alive." — And  "  where  sin  abounded,  grace 
did  much  more  abound."  The  mystery  of  temporal 
death  passing  upon  infants,  is  no  greater  than  its  pass- 
ing upon  the  whole  animal  creation;  and  both  these 
mysteries  may  have  a  connection  with  the  scheme  of 
redemption,  and  with  its  ultimate  results,  which  will  re- 
move every  cloud,  when  those  "  little  ones  shall  always 
behold  the  face  of  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 

We  are  puzzled  with  our  Creator's  dispensations,  be- 
cause we  do  not  see  to  the  end  of  them ;  and  there  is 
no  necessity  that  we  should  be  such  volunteers  in  mys- 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  161 

tery,  as  to  connect  with  them  doctrines  of  our  Own  in- 
vention, which  have  no  other  basis  than  our  imagina- 
tion, the  authority  of  our  sect,  or  the  venerated  creed 
of  our  fathers. 

Another  false  doctrine  which  augments  the  difficulty 
of  original  corruption,  is  the  supposition  that  this  de- 
pravity is  so  violent  as  to  compel  men  to  live  and  die 
actual  sinners,  and  thus  to  make  their  perdition  unavoid- 
able. 

The  force  of  evil  propensity  is  indeed  deep  and  dread- 
ful. It  is  "  foolishness  bound  up  in  the  heart ;"  a  con- 
straining energy  or  "  law  in  the  members ;"  a  thirsting 
appetite  for  evil ;  a  raging  fever  in  the  soul ;  occasion- 
ing an  imbecility  like  a  man's  feet  sinking  in  the  mire. 
But  let  it  be  remembered,  that  provision  is  made  in  the 
mediatorial  system  for  the  energy  of  a  counteracting 
principle.  "  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
Spirit  against  the  flesh ;  and  these  are  contrary  the  one 
to  the  other."  This  balances  the  probationary  state  of 
man,  and  doubtless  fits  it  in  the  best  manner  possible, 
for  the  regeneration  and  recovery  of  a  fallen  soul. 

It  is  true  that  all  Adam's  children,  who  live  to  matu- 
rity, become,  more  or  less,  actual  sinners;  the  surround- 
ing objects  of  sense  operating  upon  corrupt  propensi- 
ty, in  their  state  of  ignorance,  seems  to  produce  a  kind 
of  constraining  force  upon  their  faculties,  whereby  they 
are  influenced  to  go  astray.  Yet  this  necessity  is  not 
absolute  ;  and  in  after  life  they  persevere  in  crime,  not 
only  with  a  very  free  will,  but  with  an  amount  of  obsti- 
14*  g* 


1G2  THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 

nacy,  that  excites  the  just  indignation  of  heaven.  The 
strength  of  motives  and  influences  which  they  resist,  is 
wonderful ;  and  they  often  persevere  in  this  course  of 
resistance  for  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  years.  Now  to  say 
a  man's  agency  is  in  such  a  condition  that  he  cannot 
do  right,  at  the  same  time  that  he  avoids  doing  right 
only  by  resistance,  appears  to  me  to  be  as  plain  a  con- 
tradiction as  can  be  formed  in  human  language. 

The  sinner,  far  from  striving  to  overcome  the  evil 
lusts  of  his  heart,  has  spent  years  in  carefully  nourish- 
ing them,  and  in  fighting  against  every  thing  that  would 
give  them  any  disturbance.  Though  he  originally  de- 
rived them  from  nature,  or  from  Adam,  yet  he  has  now 
made  them  his  own,  and  has  vastly  increased  their 
strength.  Hence  it  is  said,  "A  man  is  tempted  when 
he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed."  These 
lusts  he  has  made  his  own,  by  assiduously  nourishing, 
feeding,  and  guarding  them  against  all  the  attacks  of 
truth,  justice,  and  heaven.  The  pride  of  a  man's  heart, 
for  example, — how  carefully  has  it  been  cherished,  and 
guarded,  and  strengthened,  by  repelling  and  hating 
every  thing  of  a  humiliating  tendency ! 

When  men  employ  their  lives  in  this  manner,  as 
thousands  are  known  to  do,  it  is  perfectly  absurd  and 
false  to  say  they  are  forced  into  sin  and  perdition,  by 
the  unconquerable  violence  of  their  internal  corrup- 
tions. If  they  would  exercise  as  strong  and  persever- 
ing an  agency  in  resisting  these  lusts,  as  they  exercise 


THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  163 

in  resisting  truth,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  will  venture 
to  say  that  grace  would  not  give  them  the  victory  1 

It  is  on  the  ground  of  our  having  made  internal  cor- 
ruptions our  own,  in  the  manner  above  stated,  that  we 
are  required  to  repent  of  these  deep  and  inveterate  roots 
of  sin.  Not  that  we  are  to  repent  for  what  Adam  did, 
or  for  having  been  born  his  descendants,  or  for  having 
been  begotten  in  his  image  and  likeness  ;  but  for  having 
made  original  corruption  our  own,  by  cherishing  it  in 
our  will,  loving  it  in  our  hearts,  and  causing  it  to  con- 
ceive, and  to  bring  forth  sin  and  death.  (Jam.  i.  15.) 
The  centre  of  true  repentance  is  here ;  and  if  all  sin- 
ners in  the  world  would  thus  renounce  the  spirit  of 
rebellion,  which  they  might  do,  they  would,  through 
the  atonement  of  the  Saviour,  every  one  be  saved  :  for 
God  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance. 

The  agency  of  sinners  in  persevering  in  crime  and 
impenitence,  is  a  most  raging,  resolute,  and  insulting 
agency :  they  contemn  God,  and  proudly  set  him  at 
defiance.  They  freely  and  voluntarily  choose  to  be 
malevolent.  They  glory  in  their  shame ;  and  delight 
to  spurn  truth  and  goodness  from  them,  with  sovereign 
contempt  and  scorn.  The  apologies  urged  in  their 
excuse,  therefore,  from  the  fall  of  Adam,  and  from  their 
supposed  moral  inability  to  do  any  better,  are  false  and 
groundless ;  and  will  be  found  to  be  so,  when  "  God 
shall  bring  every  work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret 
thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil." 


164  TREATMENT  OF  THE  FALLEN  RACE. 

Original  sin  has  been  involved  in  mystery,  to  give 
plausibility  to  the  favourite  doctrine  of  eternal  election 
and  reprobation.  All  Adam's  children  are  represented 
as  being  born  guilty,  and  as  deserving  eternal  damna- 
tion, as  soon  as  they  come  into  life ;  therefore  the  con- 
clusion is  fondly  urged  upon  the  human  understanding, 
that  as  they  all  deserve  perdition,  free  grace  (i.  e.  sove- 
reign partiality)  may  elect  some,  and  pass  by  all  the 
others,  without  doing  them  any  injury.  There  are 
those,  indeed,  who  disclaim  this  system,  and  yet  are 
fond  of  the  doctrine  of  infant  guilt ;  but  it  is  because 
they  hold  to  certain  other  views  of  the  Divine  charac- 
ter and  government,  with  which  the  doctrine  of  eternal 
reprobation  is  necessarily  connected.  We  shall  have 
occasion,  in  the  sequel,  to  show  that  this  position  is 
manifest  and  indisputable. 


SECTION  V. 

Subsequent  treatment  of  the  fallen  race. 

The  first  act  of  the  Divine  Being  after  the  trans- 
gression in  Paradise,  was  to  declare  war  against  the 
serpent ;  and  in  that  declaration,  intimations  were  given 
of  intended  mercy  for  man. —  The  seed  of  the  woman 
shall  bruise  the  serpenfs  head. 

"  And  unto  Adam  he  said,  Because  thou  hast  eaten 
of  the  tree,  of  which  I  said,  thou  shalt  not.  eat  of  it, 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  FALLEN  RACE.  165 

cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake."  Had  the  Divine 
purpose  been  to  execute  judgment  without  mercy,  the 
curse  would  doubtless  have  fallen  immediately  upon  the 
man,  as  the  previous  curse  did  upon  the  serpent;  but  as 
it  passed  over  him  and  fell  upon  the  ground,  a  state  of 
trial  and  discipline  was  at  once  established.  The  guilty 
pair  were  driven  from  their  native  abode,  into  a  state 
of  banishment,  where,  as  Mr.  Fletcher  observes,  all 
things  around  them  bore  the  stamp  of  desolation  for 
their  sake.  They  were  subjected  to  labour,  sorrow,  pain, 
and  death.  Of  this  severity,  complaints  have  been 
uttered,  or  entertained,  through  all  generations  of  man- 
kind. The  pure  goodness  of  the  Deity  has  been  doubted ; 
and  wrathful  or  unrighteous  dispositions  have  been  im- 
puted to  him.  He  is  suspected  of  delighting  in  ven- 
geance ;  and  hence  he  has  made  the  life  of  man  a  scene 
of  almost  insufferable  wo.  But  that  these  insinuations 
are  groundless  and  unjust,  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing considerations. 

First,  the  good  actually  enjoyed  under  the  present 
arrangements  of  Providence,  vastly  overbalance  the 
amount  of  evil  suffered.  We  commonly  have  five 
hundred  days  of  health,  for  one  day  of  sickness ;  and 
any  man  who  will  exhibit  a  correct  history  of  his  life, 
will  furnish  abundant  evidence,  that  when  his  enjoy- 
ments are  justly  estimated,  they  greatly  outweigh  all 
the  afflictions  and  sorrows  which  the  providential  hand 
of  his  Maker  has  laid  upon  him. 

Secondly,  a  large  amount  of  the  sufferings  of  man- 


186  TREATMENT  OF  THE  FALLEN  RACE. 

kind  in  the  present  world,  is  the  immediate  result  of 
their  own  wickedness.  Shall  they  continually  deceive, 
defraud,  oppress  and  murder  one  another,  and  all  the 
while  complain  of  Heaven,  on  account  of  the  sorrows 
that  are  endured  under  the  sun  ?  Let  any  family  take 
an  impartial  account  of  its  domestic  miseries,  and  see 
if  nine-tenths  of  the  amount  will  not  be  found  to  arise 
from  the  pride,  caprice,  obstinacy,  peevishness,  tyranny 
or  absurdity  of  husbands,  wives,  children,  servants,  bro- 
thers, and  sisters.  Shall  members  of  the  same  house* 
hold  thus  torment  one  another,  and  then  blame  God  for 
their  calamities  and  vexations  1  And  even  the  sorrows 
of  an  individual,  what  are  they,  for  the  most  part,  but 
mental  pangs  arising  from  the  corruption  and  folly  of 
his  own  soul? 

Let  it  be  considered  also,  in  the  third  place,  that  the 
afflictions  which  Providence  sends  upon  us,  would  not 
be  so  frequent  nor  so  heavy  as  they  are,  were  it  not 
that  we  render  them  necessary,  by  our  own  inexcusable 
frowardness  and  obstinacy.  The  wicked  are  thereby 
restrained,  sometimes  brought  to  consideration  and 
repentance ;  and  the  people  of  God  are  guarded,  cor- 
rected, and  urged  forward  in  the  way  of  everlasting 
happiness. 

"If  we  believe  the  history  of  the  creation,"  says 
Sherlock,  "  the  Divine  goodness  displayed  itself  in  a 
most  beautiful  and  glorious  scene ;  the  new-made  world, 
and  the  new-created  man,  were  perfect  and  happy. 
This  was  the  world  which  God  made ;  such  a  happy 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  FALLEN  RACE.  1G7 

world  as  it  became  perfect  goodness  to  make:  and 
hence  we  learn  what  the  goodness  of  God  is,  and  what 
it  would  always  do;  for  when  the  Divine  goodness 
made  the  world,  he  made  it  what  he  would  have  it 
to  be. 

"  But  man  did  not  continue  what  God  had  made  him: 
he  sinned,  and  by  sin  brought  death  and  misery  into  the 
world.  And  therefore,  though  we  do  not  now  see  such 
a  happy  state  of  things,  we  must  not  hence  conclude, 
that  the  world  is  not  governed  by  perfect  goodness;  but 
that  a  perfect  state  of  ease  and  happiness  in  this  world, 
does  neither  become  the  providence  of  God,  nor  is  good 
for  sinners.  But  though  God  be  always  the  same,  as 
good  now  as  he  was  when  he  at  first  made  the  world, 
and  as  he  will  be  when  he  shall  reward  all  good  men 
in  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  yet  the  degenerate  state 
of  mankind  requires  such  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil, 
as  we  now  see,  and  feel,  and  complain  of  in  this  world." 
(Divine  Providence,  p.  249.) 

The  same  author  says,  again,  "  To  put  man  into  a 
state  of  probation  and  trial,  to  recover  that  immortality 
he  had  lost,  was  an  act  of  great  goodness :  and  what- 
ever severe  methods  are  used  to  reform  sinners,  is  as 
great  an  expression  of  goodness,  as  it  is  to  force  and  to 
compel  them  to  be  happy ;  as  it  is  to  cut  off  a  hand  or 
a  leg,  to  preserve  life.  And  if  we  will  but  allow  this 
world  to  be  a  state  of  trial  and  discipline  for  another 
world,  and  wisely  consider,  not  what  simple  and  abso- 
lute goodness,  but  what  the  goodness  of  discipline  re- 


168  TREATMENT  OF  THE  FALLEN  RACE. 

quires,  it  will  give  us  an  easy  answer  to  all  the  objec- 
tions against  the  goodness  of  Providence.  Good  men 
themselves,  were  they  as  happy  in  this  world  as  they 
could  wish,  would  not  be  very  fond  of  another  world, 
nor  learn  those  mortifying  and  self-denying  virtues, 
which  are  necessary  to  prepare  them  for  a  spiritual 
life :  and  bad  men  would  grow  more  in  love  with  this 
world,  and  sin  on  without  check  and  control.  The 
miseries  and  afflictions  of  this  life  wean  good  men  from 
the  world,  and  lay  great  restraints  upon  bad  men ;  which 
justifies  both  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  in  those 
many  miseries  which  mankind  suffer."    (p.  252.) 

In  short,  if  there  are  great  calamities  and  heart-rend- 
ing judgments  abounding  over  the  earth,  it  is  because 
the  obstinate  bent  of  man's  will  to  moral  evil  is  very 
great,  and  his  actual  wickedness  enormous ;  and  all  the 
restraining  chastisements  of  Providence  are  found  to 
be  barely  sufficient  to  keep  the  world  from  utter  ruin 
and  depopulation.  For  such  an  abandoned  race,  there- 
fore, to  complain  of  the  severities  of  Heaven,  is  as  ridi- 
culous as  it  is  presumptuous  and  inexcusable.  All  men 
who  are  acquainted  with  themselves,  and  who  are  dis- 
posed to  acknowledge  the  truth,  will  not  hesitate  to 
own,  upon  a  retrospect  of  their  whole  lives,  that  how- 
ever great  their  sufferings  may  have  been,  they  were 
much  less  than  their  iniquities  justly  deserved ;  and 
every  honest  man  will  be  constrained  to  say,  Goodness 
and  mercy  have  followed  me  all  the  days  of  my  life. 


SECTION  VI. 
The  Wrath  of  God — Its  Principle  and  Nature. 

In  the  holy  Scriptures  our  Creator  sometimes  speaks 
of  his  wrath,  vengeance,  indignation,  and  fury ;  but  it  is 
very  evident  from  his  manner  of  speaking,  that  he  is 
never  in  a  passion.  On  the  contrary,  he  speaks  with 
the  same  mild  and  unruffled  dignity,  when  speaking  of 
his  wrath  and  vengeance,  as  he  does  when  exhibiting 
his  benevolence  and  mercy. 

Take  an  instance ;  "  So  will  I  break  down  the  wall 
that  ye  have  daubed  with  untempered  mortar,  and  it 
shall  fall,  and  ye  shall  be  consumed  in  the  midst  thereof: 
and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord.  Thus  will  I 
accomplish  my  wrath  upon  the  wTall,  and  upon  them 
that  hav£  daubed  it  with  untempered  mortar — to  wit, 
the  prophets  of  Israel  which  see  visions  of  peace  for 
her,  and  there  is  no  peace,  saith  the  Lord  God."  (Ezek. 
xiii.  14.)  Again :  "  Stand  up,  O  Jerusalem,  which  hast 
drunk  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord  the  cup  of  his  fury — 
therefore  hear  now  this,  thou  afflicted,  and  drunken,  but 
not  with  wine :  thus  saith  thy  Lord,  and  thy  God  that 
pleadeth  the  cause  of  his  people,  behold,  I  have  taken 
out  of  thy  hand  the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  my  fury  ;  thou 
shalt  no  more  drink  it  again."  (Isa.  li.  17 — 21.)  Once 
more :  "  Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart,  Be 
strong,  fear  not :  behold  your  God  will  come  with  ven- 
15-  h  <169) 


170  THE  WRATH  OF  GOD. 

geance,  even  God  with  a  recompense ;  he  will  come 
and  save  you."     (Isa.  xxxv.  4.) 

These  are  specimens  of  the  serene  and  sentimental 
manner  in  which  the  great  Sovereign  of  the  universe 
speaks  of  his  wrath,  fury,  and  vengeance  ;  and  the  atten- 
tive reader  will  perceive  this  remarkable  peculiarity 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 

Now  the  question  before  us  is  this :  does  the  wrath  or 
vengeance  of  the  Lord  proceed  from  the  same  source 
with  his  mercy  and  kindness,  or  from  a  different  source. 
Is  wrath,  in  a  holy  Being,  any  thing  else  than  the  en- 
ergy of  love  ?  Or  is  it  something  opposite  to  love  1  There 
are  two  kinds  of  wrath,  that  are  to  be  carefully  distin- 
guished ;  the  one  is  the  action  of  justice,  which  flows 
from  love ;  the  other,  the  operation  of  injustice,  which 
proceeds  from  malevolence.  The  devil  is  represented 
as  a  very  wrathful  being,  and  we  are  told  he  was  a  mur- 
derer from  the  beginning.  It  will  doubtless  be  granted 
by  all  Christians,  that  there  is  no  such  wrath  as  this  in 
the  Almighty.  Nay,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  if  the 
Divine  character  be  opposite  to  the  character  of  the 
devil,  which  none  will  deny,  the  wrath  of  God  proceeds 
from  an  opposite  principle ;  therefore  as  the  devil's  wrath 
proceeds  from  malevolence,  the  Divine  wrath  results 
from  the  principle  stated  above.  Some  appear  to  think 
that  a  perfectly  benevolent  Being  can  have  in  his  nature 
no  such  thing  as  wrath ;  while  others  conclude,  "  A  God 
all  mercy,  is  a  God  unjust."  These  seemingly  opposite 
opinions,  however,  will  probably  be  found  to  be  nothing 


THE  WRATH  OF  GOD.  171 

more  than  a  dispute  about  words.  To  say  an  unjust 
being  is  at  the  same  time  all  mercy,  is  a  paradox  that 
cannot  bear  examination. 

Benevolence  furnishes  the  means  of  universal  happi- 
ness ?  and  justice  prescribes  boundaries  to  guard  the 
established  system,  which  none  are  permitted  to  pass 
over.  Now  is  there  any  opposition  between  the  prin- 
ciple which  furnishes  the  happiness,  and  the  one  which 
defends  it  1  Do  they  not  both  flow  from  the  same  gra- 
cious disposition  1 

As  God  knew  that  the  well-being  of  his  creatures 
depended  upon  maintaining  a  regular  system  of  moral 
conduct,  he  interposed  his  authority  to  prescribe  and 
enforce  the  necessary  rules  of  voluntary  action ;  and 
this  was  the  operation  of  justice.  Had  this  not  been 
exercised,  the  system  of  happiness  would  have  been 
neglected,  and  left  without  protection ;  therefore  the 
want  of  justice  would  have  been  a  very  great  deficien- 
cy in  goodness.  How  then  can  the  conclusion  be  sus- 
tained, that  "A  God  all  mercy,  is  a  God  unjust  ?"  Would 
it  be  all  mercy,  to  leave  the  felicity  of  the  whole  uni- 
verse without  protection  ?    . 

The  view  entertained  by  those  who  would  exclude 
justice  from  the  Divine  character,  appears  to  be,  that 
God  should  furnish  the  means  of  enjoyment  without  any 
deficiency,  and  then  let  all  his  creatures  do  as  they 
please :  let  them  deface  and  mar  his  whole  plan  with 
impunity ;  and  when  he  sees  them  perverting  his  fair 
creation,  and  turning  it  into  a  scene  of  confusion  and 


172  THE  WRATH  OF  GOD. 

desolation,  he  must  do  nothing  to  restrain  them  !  This 
would  be  like  sowing  good  seed  in  a  field,  and  then 
leaving  it  without  an  enclosure,  to  be  trodden  under 
foot,  because  the  owner  is  too  merciful  to  take  care  of 
it!  When  an  enemy  comes  to  destroy  the  growing 
produce,  and  thus  to  blast  the  harvest,  he  must  not  be 
arrested  and  bound  hand  and  foot, — nothing  must  be 
done  to  interrupt  or  restrain  him;  every  thing  must 
be  allowed  to  go  to  ruin ;  and  after  all  is  destroyed,  the 
owner's  whole  possessions  turned  into  a  wilderness,  and 
his  children  and  servants  brought  to  beggary  and  starv- 
ation, he  may  sit  down  and  console  himself,  by  reflect- 
ing on  the  demonstration  thus  given,  that  his  character 
is  all  mercy ! 

If  there  be  no  justice  exercised,  on  the  part  of  our 
Creator,  it  is  obvious  that  he  can  have  no  moral  go- 
vernment ;  for  what  is  government,  but  the  action  of 
authority  prescribing  and  enforcing  rules  of  moral  con- 
duct ?  The  kind  of  mercy  which  sinners  want  God  to 
exercise,  is  such  as  must  possess  no  authority,  have  no 
law,  and  hold  them  to  no  responsibility.  That  is,  they 
desire  God  to  be  so  merciful  as  to  patronise  all  ungod- 
liness, and  to  furnish  transgressors  with  an  eternal  hea- 
ven of  sin !  This  is  the  secret  which  lies  at  the  found- 
ation of  all  objections  to  the  Divine  government. 

Justice  and  judgment  are,  and  ought  to  be,  the  found- 
ation of  the  Almighty's  throne ;  whence  it  is  evident, 
that  the  wrath  of  God  is  always  a  just  wrath,  which 
originates  in  a  regard  to  the  common  welfare.     It  may 


THE  WRATH  OF  GOD.  173 

be  pretended,  perhaps,  that  all  wrath  is  unjust ;  but  this 
contradicts  the  human  conscience,  which  testifies  that 
guilt  deserves  punishment.  It  is  also  refuted  by  the 
civil  governments  of  all  nations,  which,  however  they 
differ  in  form,  all  agree  in  this,  that  they  inflict  punish- 
ment upon  transgressors.  Hence  we  see  the  conviction 
to  be  universal,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  just  ivratk  ; 
and  on  this  basis  the  conclusion  rests,  that  the  wrath  of 
God  is  no  more  contrary  to  his  love,  than  the  justice  is 
from  which  it  emanates. 

But  this  wrath,  it  may  be  said,  is  too  severe.  It  is 
not  more  severe  than  just,  and  that  is,  not  more  so  than 
is  necessary ;  otherwise  it  would  follow  that  justice  is 
unnecessary ;  a  conclusion  this,  which  none  will  con- 
tend for,  except  they  wish,  on  the  one  hand,  to  witness 
the  reign  of  tyranny,  or,  on  the  other,  to  return  to  the 
secret  above  mentioned,  that  sin  does  no  harm,  and 
therefore  should  be  left  free  from  all  restraint  and  pun- 
ishment. 

The  wrath  of  God  is  not  animosity  towards  sinners ; 
for  he  delights  to  pardon  them,  whenever  it  can  be  done 
without  giving  up  his  kingdom,  and  sacrificing  the  wel- 
fare of  his  unoffending  subjects.  The  redemption  of 
the  world  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  intended  to 
open  the  way  for  the  pardon  of  sin  to  be  extended  as 
far  as  it  is  possible  for  mercy  to  extend  it.  That  is,  so 
far  as  will  not  impair  the  moral  system  on  which  the 
common  welfare  depends ;  and  beyond  this,  the  grant 
of  pardon  would  be  unmerciful.  Divine  wrath,  when 
15* 


174  THE  WRATH  OF  GOD. 

put  into  a  flame,  is  kindled  at  the  fountain  of  love.  It 
punishes  the  sinner,  in  order  either  mercifully  to  reform 
him,  or  kindly  to  protect  the  general  happiness.  Even 
in  the  wonderful  sufferings  of  redeeming  love,  wrath 
and  mercy  operated  in  perfect  harmony. 

Here  the  whole  Deity  is  known, 

Nor  dares  a  creature  guess, 
Which  of  the  glories  brightest  shone, 

The  justice  or  the  grace. 

Hence  it  is  said  that  "  He  who  was  clothed  with  a 
vesture  dipped  in  blood,"  and  whose  "  name  is  called 
the  Word  of  God,"  "  treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the 
fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God."  (Rev.  xix.  13.) 
And  mark  the  astonishing  combination  of  wrath  and 
mercy,  in  the  account  given  of  him,  and  of  his  redeem- 
ing operations,  in  the  Old  Testament :  "  Who  is  this  that 
cometh  from  Edom,  with  dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ? 
— I  that  speak  in  righteousness,  mighty  to  save.  Where- 
fore art  ,thou  red  in  thine  apparel,  and  thy  garments 
like  him  that  treadeth  in  the  wine-fat  ?  I  have  trodden 
the  wine-press  alone ;  and  of  the  people  there  was  none 
with  me :  for  I  will  tread  them  in  mine  anger,  and 
trample  them  in  my  fury,  and  their  blood  shall  be 
sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my 
raiment.  For  the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart,  and 
the  year  of  my  redeemed  is  come.  Therefore  mine  own 
arm  brought  salvation  unto  me,  and  my  fury,  it  upheld 
me.  I  will  tread  down  the  people  in  mine  anger,  and 
make  them  drunk  in  my  fury,  and  I  will  bring  down 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  175 

their  strength  to  the  earth.  I  will  mention  the  loving 
kindness  of  the  Lord,  and  his  great  goodness  towards 
the  house  of  Israel,"  &c.  (Isa.  lxiii.  1.)  These  strong 
expressions  exhibit  the  harmony  of  justice  and  benevo- 
lence, and  show  that  the  work  of  redemption  was 
accompanied  by  their  combined  operation.  The  same 
principles,  the  same  harmony,  the  same  energy,  run 
through  the  whole  of  the  Divine  administration,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  creation  to  eternity.  There  is  no 
contradiction  or  variation  of  principle  in  the  Supreme 
Being ;  but  the  action  of  his  government  operates  upon 
individuals,  according  to  the  diversity  of  their  charac- 
ters. Our  Creator  is  not  a  double-minded  Being :  He  is 
of  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him?  His  disposition  is 
that  of  immutable  love  for  the  whole  creation ;  and  in 
all  things  He  acts  from  an  invariable  regard  to  the  pub- 
lic happiness. 


SECTION  VII. 

Supposed  Partiality  of  God  towards  Nations. 

We  are  informed  that  God  is  "the  Father  of  the 
spirits  of  all  flesh ;"  that  "  all  souls  are  his ;"  that  "  there 
is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God ;"  and  that  "  the  wis- 
dom from  above  is  without  partiality  and  without  hy- 
pocrisy." Whence  we  conclude,  that  there  can  be  no 
motive  in  the  Divine  Mind  for  caprice  or  favouritism. 


176  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

Indeed,  we  have  only  to  inquire  whether  this  disposition 
be  a  constituent  part  of  a  good  or  of  an  evil  character, 
to  ascertain  whether  it  have  place  in  the  mind  of  our 
Creator.  If  partiality  be  an  evil  disposition,  there  is 
none  of  it  in  God ;  and  if  it  be  a  good  one,  why  should 
any  man  be  unwilling  to  be  an  object  of  its  influence, 
or  to  be  one  of  its  reprobates  ?  and  why  is  it  prohibited 
by  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  ? 

But  it  may  be  supposed  that  God  is  partial  in  his  treat- 
ment of  nations :  the  Jews,  for  example,  were  his  pecu- 
liar people,  while  many  other  nations  were  cast  off  into 
darkness  and  heathenism.  How  does  God  himself  an- 
swer this  objection  ?  As  follows :  "  At  what  instant  1 
shall  speak  concerning  a  nation,  and  concerning  a  king- 
dom, to  pluck  up,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy  it: 
if  that  nation  against  whom  I  have  pronounced,  turn 
from  their  evil  way,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I 
thought  to  do  unto  them.  And  at  what  instant  I  shall 
speak  concerning  a  nation,  and  concerning  a  kingdom, 
to  build  and  to  plant  it ;  if  it  do  evil  in  my  sight,  that  it 
obey  not  my  voice,  then  I  will  repent  of  the  good 
wherewith  I  said  I  would  benefit  them."  (Jer.  xviii.  7.) 
"  Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth,  and  said,  Of  a  truth,  I 
perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons :  but  in 
every  nation,  he  that  feareth  him  and  worketh  right- 
eousness, is  accepted  with  him."     (Acts  x.  34.) 

God  said  to  Abraham,  "  I  will  bless  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  be  a  blessing."  So  it  was  with  Abraham's  pos- 
terity :  they  were  not  chosen  to  be  God's  peculiar  peo- 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  177 

pie  for  their  own  sake  alone,  but  to  be  a  blessing  to 
surrounding  nations,  that  the  name  of  God  might  be 
declared  throughout  all  the  earth,  and  that  all  nations 
and  kindreds  of  the  earth  might  be  blessed  in  Abraham's 
seed.  When  the  Jews  rebelled,  they  were  accordingly 
punished,  not  only  that  they  might  be  reclaimed,  but 
also  that  other  nations  might  be  instructed  and  admon- 
ished. 

"  When  the  nations  round  about  wTere  witnesses  of 
God's  judgments  against  Israel,"  says  Sherlock,  "  when 
they  forsook  the  Lord  their  God,  and  of  their  happy  and 
prosperous  state  while  they  kept  his  covenant ;  it  was  a 
convincing  proof  of  the  power  and  justice  of  the  God 
of  Israel ;  especially  when  they  should  see  the  ten  tribes 
utterly  rooted  out  for  their  idolatry,  and  Judah  carried 
captive  into  Babylon,  and  the  city  and  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem destroyed,  and  the  land  laid  waste  and  desolate 
without  inhabitants ;  the  justice  and  power  of  God,  in 
driving  them  out  of  their  land,  would  then  be  as  much 
taken  notice  of,  as  his  wonderful  providence  in  deliver- 
ing them  out  of  Egypt.  And  this  was  so  publicly  known, 
that  when  any  such  evils  befel  Israel,  the  nations  round 
about  were  able  to  give  the  reason  of  it ;  because  they 
forsook  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers.  So  that  the  very 
oppression  and  captivity  of  Israel,  published  the  supreme 
power  and  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel."  The  same  au- 
thor says  again,  "  These  captivities  and  dispersions  of 
Israel,  especially  the  long  captivity  of  Judah  in  Baby- 
lon, served  other  ends  besides  the  punishment  and  the 


178  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

cure  of  their  idolatry ;  for  into  what  country  soever  they 
were  carried  captive,  they  carried  the  knowledge  of 
the  God  of  Israel  along  with  them."     (p.  365.) 

Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon,  acknowledged 
to  Daniel,  "  Of  a  truth  it  is,  that  your  God  is  a  God  of 
gods,  and  a  Lord  of  kings,  and  a  revealer  of  secrets, 
since  thou  couldst  reveal  this  secret."  And  upon  the 
deliverance  of  the  three  Hebrews,  the  same  monarch 
passed  a  decree,  "  That  every  people,  nation  and  lan- 
guage, which  speak  any  thing  amiss  against  the  God 
of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  shall  be  cut  in 
pieces,  and  their  houses  shall  be  made  a  dunghill ;  be- 
cause there  is  no  other  God,  that  can  deliver  after  this 
sort."     (Dan.  ii.  47— hi.  28.) 

When  Daniel  and  his  associates  were  exalted  to  great 
authority  in  the  kingdom,  who  can  doubt  that  they  used 
their  utmost  influence  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
God  among  the  people,  which  knowledge,  as  our  Sa- 
viour informs  us,  is  life  eternal?  King  Darius  also 
made  a  decree,  "  That  in  every  dominion  of  his  king- 
dom, men  fear  and  tremble  before  the  God  of  Daniel." 
And  suppose  thousands  of  them  did  so,  we  have  a  right 
to  conclude  that  they  were  saved;  for  if  the  apostle 
Peter  had  an  orthodox  view  of  the  gospel,  whosoever  in 
that  or  any  other  nation  feareth  God  and  worketh  right- 
eousness, is  accepted  with  him. 

It  is  delightful  to  have  the  authority  of  such  an  au- 
thor as  Sherlock  in  opposition  to  the  gloomy  doctrine 
of  Gentile  reprobation.   "  The  Jews,  and  their  God,  and 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  179 

their  religion,"  he  says,  "  became  known  over  all  the 
Roman  Empire.  And  though  the  knowledge  of  the 
God  of  Israel  did  not  reform  Nations,  yet  we  have  rea- 
son to  believe,  that  it  made  a  great  many  private  con- 
verts, who  secretly  forsook  the  idolatries  of  their  coun- 
tries, and  worshipped  the  only  true  God ;  and  some  few 
examples  of  this  kind,  which  we  know,  may  satisfy  us 
that  there  were  many  more. 

"  On  the  famous  day  of  Pentecost,  there  were  at  Jeru- 
salem great  numbers,  not  only  of  Jews,  but  of  Prose- 
lytes out  of  every  nation,  "  Parthians,  and  Medes,  and 
Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  Ju- 
dea,  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  Phrygia  and 
Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  parts  of  Libya,  about 
Cyrene,  and  strangers  of  Rome ;  Jews  and  proselytes, 
Cretes  and  Arabians."  From  whence  we  learn,  that 
the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  into  all  nations,  made  great 
numbers  of  Proselytes,  who  renounced  all  the  Heathen 
Idolatries,  and  worshipped  no  other  God  but  the  God 
of  Israel.  "When  St.  Paul  preached  at  Thessalonica, 
there  consorted  with  Paul  and  Silas  of  the  devout  Greeks 
a  great  multitude.  The  very  name  of  Greeks  proves 
them  to  be  Gentiles;  and  that  they  were  devout  or 
worshipping  Greeks,  proves  that  they  were  the  wor- 
shippers of  the  God  of  Israel.  And  almost  in  every 
place  where  St.  Paul  preached  the  gospel,  we  find  great 
numbers  of  these  worshipping  Gentiles"  (Divine  Pro- 
vidence, pp.  372,  373.) 

This  judicious  author  adds  the  following; — "We 


180  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

must  confess  that  we  know  so  little  of  the  other  world, 
that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  give  a  particular  reason 
of  every  passage  of  Providence,  which  relates  to  the 
next  world.  It  is  one  very  great  difficulty,  that  since 
all  men  have  immortal  souls,  and  must  be  happy  or 
miserable  for  ever,  God  should  for  so  many  ages  suffer 
the  whole  world,  excepting  the  Jews,  to  live  in  igno- 
rance, and  in  Pagan  idolatry  and  superstition.  But 
then  the  whole  difficulty  is  no  more  than  this,  that  we 
know  not  what  the  condition  of  such  men  is  in  the  other 
world,  who  lived  in  invincible  ignorance  of  the  true  God 
and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  in  this.  This  we  con- 
fess we  do  not  know,  but  believe  so  well  of  God,  that 
we  are  verily  persuaded,  could  we  see  what  their  state 
is  in  the  other  world,  we  should  see  no  reason  to  quar- 
rel with  the  justness  or  goodness  of  God  upon  their  ac- 
count. Men  must  be  very  much  inclined  to  quarrel 
with  God,  who  will  raise  objections  from  what  they 
confess  they  know  nothing  of:  and  yet  I  cannot  guess, 
how  they  should  know  any  thing  of  the  state  of  ignorant 
Heathens  in  the  next  world,  since  the  Scripture  says 
nothing  of  it ;  and  yet  this  can  be  known  only  by  reve- 
lation, for  we  cannot  look  into  the  other  world. 

"  The  plain  truth  of  the  case  is  this :  some  men  con- 
fidently affirm,  that  ignorant  Heathens  shall  suffer  the 
same  condemnation  which  Christ  has  threatened  against 
wilful  infidels,  and  wicked  Christians ;  and  this,  I  con- 
fess, is  a  great  difficulty,  but  it  is  a  difficulty  of  their 
own  making ;  and  I  should  think  it  much  more  safe  for 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  181 

ourselves,  and  much  more  honourable  for  God,  to  con- 
fess our  ignorance  of  such  matters,  as  we  have  no  pos- 
sible way  to  know,  than  to  pretend  to  know  what  we 
cannot  know,  and  from  thence  to  raise  such  objections 
as  we  cannot  answer.  We  know  so  little  in  particular 
about  the  other  world,  that  it  is  impossible  we  should 
be  able  either  to  satisfy  ourselves  or  others  in  such  mat- 
ters."   (Divine  Providence,  pp.  139,  140.) 

In  regard  to  the  supposed  partiality  of  God,  in  select- 
ing the  Jews  to  be  his  peculiar  people,  the  charge  is 
fully  obviated,  not  only  by  the  clear  Scripture  evidence 
that  God  had  an  impartial  regard  to  the  happiness  of 
all  mankind  in  that  dispensation,  but  also  by  his  severe 
treatment  of  the  Jews  themselves,  when  they  became  a 
nation  of  infidels.  "  The  obstinate  Infidelity  of  the 
Jews,"  says  Mr.  Sherlock,  "  who  blasphemed  the  name, 
and  persecuted  the  disciples  of  Christ,  did  in  some  de- 
gree hinder  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  but  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  miracu- 
lous preservation  of  the  Christians,  was  so  visible  a 
testimony  to  Christianity,  that  the  Gospel  had  a  freer 
passage,  and  prevailed  mightily  in  the  world. 

"  And  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  into  all  countries, 
as  before  it  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  one  true  God, 
so  now  it  made  them  unwilling  witnesses  to  Christianity, 
as  being  the  visible  triumph  of  the  crucified  Jesus. 

-"  In  a  word,  when  all  mankind  were  Idolaters,  God 
chose  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  to  prepare  men  to 
receive  the  gospel,  which  would  in  time  extirpate  all 
16 


182  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

Pagan  idolatries.  When  Christ  was  come,  and  the 
gospel  preached  to  the  world,  God  rejected  that  nation 
for  their  infidelity,  and  by  that  means  gave  a  freer  pas- 
sage to  the  gospel  among  the  Gentiles ;  and  St.  Paul 
intimates,  that  the  time  will  come,  when  the  sincere 
faith,  and  exemplary  piety  of  the  Christian  Church  shall 
contribute  as  much  to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  as 
they  formerly  did  to  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles; 
for  this  seems  to  be  the  sum  of  the  apostle's  reasoning, 
with  which  I  shall  conclude  this  argument.  For  as  ye 
in  times  past  have  not  believed  God,  yet  now  have 
obtained  mercy  through  their  unbelief;  even  so  have 
these  also  not  believed,  that  through  your  mercy,  they 
also  may  obtain  mercy ;  for  God  hath  concluded  them 
all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all.  O 
the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge of  God !  how  unsearchable  are  his  judgments, 
and  his  ways  past  finding  out !  (Rom.  xi.  30.)"  (Divine 
Providence,  pp.  379,  380. 

That  all  men  of  every  nation  have  the  privilege  of 
obtaining  future  happiness,  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing considerations. 

1.  They  all  sustain  the  same  relation  to  God.  He  is 
"  the  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,"  and  "  hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  the  nations  of  men,  that  they  might 
feel  after  him,  and  find  him ;  for  he  is  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us."  What  earthly  father  would  have 
such  an  antipathy  toward  some  of  his  children,  as  to 
place  them  in  circumstances,  from  their  birth,  in  which 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  183 

it  would  not  be  in  their  power  to  obtain  happiness? 
"  If  ye  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  !" 
To  say  God  is  indifferent  to  the  happiness  of  a  large 
proportion  of  '  his  offspring,'  because  they  are  called 
Jews,  Mahometans  or  Pagans,  is  grossly  to  misrepre- 
sent his  character. 

2.  They  all  sustain  the  same  relation  to  Christ.  He 
is  called  the  second  Adam,  because  in  his  character  of 
Redeemer  he  stands  at  the  head  of  the  whole  human 
family,  as  entirely  as  the  first  Adam  did.  He  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  all ;  tasted  death  for  every  man ; 
and  became  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  Now  is  it  not  infinitely  unworthy  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  suppose  him  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the 
human  family,  as  the  world's  Redeemer,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  place  millions  of  mankind  in  circumstances 
from  their  birth,  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  them  to 
derive  any  benefit  from  his  atonement  1  To  call  it  a 
benefit,  for  them  to  have  temporal  blessings  which  are 
to  convey  them  to  inevitable  perdition,  is  a  mere  bur- 
lesque and  an  insult  to  common  rationality. 

3.  From  their  relation  to  the  Divine  government  as 
responsible  agents.  Jesus  Christ  says,  '  all  nations'  shall 
stand  before  him  in  judgment.  Then  they  are  all  ac- 
countable. And  shall  we  say  of  God,  that  he  holds 
millions  of  his  creatures  accountable,  under  circum- 
stances which  render  it  impossible  for  any  one  of  them 


184  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

to  give  a  good  account  1  If  there  be  no  possible  course 
for  Heathens  to  take  that  will  not  eventuate  in  their 
destruction,  does  it  not  follow  that  they  are  damned  for 
being  Heathens,  and  that  the  Almighty  holds  them 
accountable  for  the  circumstances  of  their  birth  1 

4.  From  their  state  of  probation.  If  Pagans  and  Ma- 
hometans are  really  in  a  state  of  trial  for  eternity,  then 
it  is  possible  for  them  so  to  act  their  part  as  to  receive 
the  crown  of  life ;  otherwise  we  shall  define  a  state  of 
probation  to  be  a  state  in  which  the  souls  of  men  are 
necessarily  jilted  for  'perdition.  A  state  in  which  they 
are  called  upon  either  to  improve  a  talent  which  they 
have  not,  or  are  furnished  with  a  talent  which  cannot 
be  improved.  Their  probation  was  allowed  them,  it 
should  seem,  not  to  give  them  a  chance  for  their  life, 
but  only  to  fit  and  qualify  them  for  the  place  of  future 
punishment ! 

5.  From  their  capacity  for  truth  and  virtue.  "  What 
does  the  Lord  thy  God  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly, 
to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  1" 
(Micah,  vi.  8.)  Js  it  not  possible  for  Heathens  to  em- 
brace so  much  truth,  as  will  lead  them  to  this  line  of 
conduct?  May  not  a  Pagan  or  a  Mahometan  be  as 
sincere  in  his  inquiries  as  a  Christian  ?  May  he  not  be 
as  candid  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  as  earnest  in  his  desires 
after  God,  and  as  submissive  to  what  he  understands  to 
be  his  Maker's  will  and  authority  ?  If  so,  he  can  have, 
in  his  degree,  the  very  same  virtues  which  qualify  the 
soul  of  the  Christian  for  eternal  life.     And  the  supposi- 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  185 

tion  that  God  will  send  men  of  this  character  to  hell, 
because  they  had  the  disadvantage  of  being  born  in 
heathen  lands,  implies  a  gross  and  shameful  misrepre- 
sentation of  his  character. 

6.  From  their  immortality.  Immortal  creatures  have 
a  capacity  for  eternal  happiness  or  misery :  and  to  say 
their  Maker  has  placed  thousands  and  millions  of  them 
in  circumstances  where  future  happiness  is  unattainable, 
and  future  misery  inevitable,  is  to  suppose  either  that  he 
is  indifferent  to  the  well-being  of  their  souls,  or  that  he 
really  takes  pleasure  in  their  future  punishment.  It  is 
to  suppose  these  creatures  were  brought  into  existence 
for  the  purpose  of  being  made  miserable  for  ever ;  as 
much  so  as  if  they  had  been  ordained  to  this  misery 
from  all  eternity. 

It  is  objected,  however,  that  all  Pagans  are  guilty  of 
idolatry,  which  God  says  is  the  abominable  thing  which 
his  soul  hateth.  That  all  Pagans  are  idolaters,  is  taken 
for  granted  without  proof.  Many  of  them  believe  in 
one  supreme  God ;  and  in  approaching  him  through  the 
medium  of  images,  they  may  aim  as  sincerely  to  obtain 
his  favour,  as  pious  Roman  Catholics  have  done,  through 
the  succeeding  ages  of  Christendom.  Heathens  never 
heard  of  the  ten  commandments ;  and  they  have  been 
taught  from  their  birth,  that  it  is  right  and  proper  to 
approach  God  through  the  medium  of  visible  repre- 
sentations ;  therefore  no  man  can  prove  that  those  of 
them  who  are  sincere  and  fervent  in  their  desires  to 
please  their  Creator,  are  exposed  to  eternal  misery  for 
16*  H* 


ISO  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

an  error  which  they  have  been  taught  to  receive  as  a 
truth  from  their  infancy,  and  which,  upon  the  approach 
of  gospel  light,  they  would  readily  and  for  ever  re- 
nounce. 

An  argument  much  dwelt  upon  in  modern  times,  is 
that  an  admission  of  the  possibility  of  Heathen  salvation 
will  damp  the  fervour  of  missionary  zeal :  for  why  con- 
tribute our  money,  and  send  our  missionaries  to  carry 
the  gospel  to  the  Heathens,  if  they  can  be  saved  without 
it?  This  argument  is  occasionally  used  even  by  Me- 
thodists ;  and  some  of  them,  there  is  cause  to  apprehend, 
are  disposed  to  give  up  their  original  testimony,  and  to 
abandon  the  doctrines  of  their  Wesley  and  Fletcher,  for 
the  sake  of  exciting  and  supporting  missionary  zeal. 
But  the  whole  plausibility  of  this  reasoning  rests  upon 
false  assumptions. 

First,  it  supposes  that  the  design  of  preaching  the 
gospel,  is  to  place  men  in  a  state  of  probation.  Persons 
in  a  state  of  trial  for  eternity  have  power  so  to  acquit 
themselves  as  to  be  accepted  and  approved  of  their 
Maker,  or  they  have  not ;  if  they  have  not,  it  is  a  sham 
trial,  and  they  are  held  to  their  accountability  by  des- 
potic power ;  if  they  have,  then  Heathens  may  become 
the  subjects  of  future  happiness,  or  otherwise  they  are 
not  in  a  state  of  probation.  If  the  latter  be  their  true 
condition,  then  our  missionaries  go  to  them  with  the 
high  prerogative  of  essentially  altering  their  moral  rela- 
tion to  Almighty  God,  and  of  exercising  towards  them 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  187 

that  benevolence  which,  it  should  seem,  their  Maker 
had  withheld  from  them  for  so  many  generations. 

Secondly,  it  supposes  that  the  design  of  carrying  the 
gospel  to  the  Heathens,  is  to  deliver  them  from  a  state 
of  absolute  reprobation.  Millions  of  them,  indeed  the 
whole  population,  it  is  supposed,  have  through  a  succes- 
sion of  centuries  gone  unavoidably  to  perdition.  There 
was  no  period  of  their  lives,  from  birth  until  death,  in 
which  it  was  in  their  power  to  escape  hell.  They  might 
as  justly  have  been  ordained  to  hell  from  everlasting ; 
for  this  would  make  no  conceivable  alteration  either  in 
its  bearing  upon  their  destiny,  or  upon  the  character  of 
their  Creator.  Methodists  may  be  assured  that  they 
will  find  no  alternative,  but  either  to  embrace  the  whole 
system  of  free  wrath,  or  to  relinquish  the  hypothesis  of 
Heathen  reprobation. 

Thirdly,  it  supposes  that  when  men  have  an  amount 
of  religious  knowledge  which  puts  them  in  the  lowest 
degree  of  salvation,  the  gospel  leaves  them  there ; — that 
it  is  no  part  of  its  design,  or  an  unimportant  one,  to  lead 
them  on  to  higher  knowledge,  and  to  higher  attainments, 
that  they  "  may  receive  a  full  reward."  For  suppose 
Heathens,  by  obeying  the  light  they  have,  may  attain 
to  a  low  degree  of  salvation,  if  the  blaze  of  gospel  truth 
would  lead  them  on  from  grace  to  grace,  and  from 
glory  to  glory,  whereby  they  would  attain  immensely 
greater  heights  of  happiness  in  heaven,  will  not  this  be 
sufficient  to  excite  the  full  glow  of  missionary  zeal  I  If 
not,  then  there  can  be  no  room  for  the  exercise  of  such 


188  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

zeal  in  Christendom,  in  order  to  build  up  believers  in 
their  most  holy  faith.  Christians  may  all  continue  in  a 
1  low  state  of  religion  to  the  end  of  life,  provided  only 
that  they  have  enough  barely  to  escape  hell.  For  if 
they  can  be  saved  with  their  present  attainments,  what 
need  of  missionary  zeal  to  call  them  into  any  higher 
degrees  of  "  glory  and  virtue,"  any  more  than  to  fur- 
nish these  advantages  to  Heathens  ? 

Fourthly,  the  argument  assumes,  that  it  is  no  design 
of  the  Gospel,  or  an  unimportant  one,  to  warn,  exhort, 
and  "persuade  men'''  to  be  saved:  for  if  there  is  no 
need  of  ministerial  zeal,  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  the 
Heathens,  because  they  already  have  salvation  within 
their  reach,  then  it  is  equally  unnecessary  to  continue 
instant  in  season,  and  out  of  season,  in  preaching  the 
gospel  to  our  own  countrymen ;  because  they  already 
have  salvation  within  their  reach.  They  have  their 
Bibles,  and  possess  religious  knowledge  enough  to  place 
them  in  a  state  of  probation  :  they  may  be  saved  if 
they  will :  therefore  let  our  gospel  zeal  die  away ;  for 
there  is  no  necessity  for  it.  This  argument  is  as  con- 
clusive in  its  application  to  all  Christendom,  as  it  is  in 
its  application  to  the  Heathen  world. 

Fifthly,  it  seems  to  assume,  that  all  missionary  zeal 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  Heathen  world,  is  so  pure, 
and  so  important,  that  hardly  any  sacrifices  are  too 
great  for  us  to  make,  in  order  to  sustain  it.  If,  how- 
ever, we  are  called  upon  sentimentally  to  devote  mil- 
lions of  our  fellow-creatures  to  unavoidable  destruction, 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  189 

and  thereby  to  give  up  all  the  holy  attributes  of  our 
Creator,  this  is  too  great  a  sacrifice  to  be  made  in  sup- 
port of  missionary  zeal ;  and  it  may  be  doubted  whe- 
ther a  zeal  derived  from  such  a  source  is  altogether  so 
pure,  as  many  seem  desirous  to  have  us  to  take  for 
granted. 

Why  are  the  Heathens  of  our  own  country  so  deplor- 
ably overlooked  and  neglected  ? 

Mr.  Jay  says,  "In  vain  has  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world  given  the  command  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature ;  his  professed  disciples  in  the  slave  states  have 
issued  a  counter  order ;  and  as  we  have  already  seen, 
have  by  their  laws,  incapacitated  2,000,000  of  their  fel- 
low-men from  complying  with  the  injunction,  "search 
the  Scriptures."  Not  only  are  the  slaves  debarred  from 
reading  the  wonderful  things  of  God — they  are  practi- 
cally prevented  with  a  few  exceptions  from  even  hear- 
ing  of  them.  There  are  in  the  bosom  of  our  country 
two  millions  of  human  beings,  who,  in  consequence  of 
our  laws,  are  in  a  state  of  heathenism.  In  1831,  the 
Rev.  Charles  C.  Jones  preached  a  sermon  before  two 
associations  of  planters  in  Georgia.  This  sermon  is 
before  us,  and  we  quote  from  it. 

"  Generally  speaking  they  (the  slaves)  appear  to  us 
to  be  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world,  a 
nation  of  heathens  in  our  very  midst. — We  cannot 
cry  out  against  the  Papists  for  withholding  the  scrip- 
tures from  the  common  people,  and  keeping  them  in 
ignorance  of  the  way  of  life ;  for  we  withhold  the  Bible 


190  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

from  our  servants,  and  keep  them  in  ignorance  of  it, 
while  we  will  not  use  the  means  to  have  it  read  and 
explained  to  them." 

On  the  5th  of  December  1833,  a  committee  of  the 
Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  to  whom  was 
referred  the  subject  of  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
coloured  population,  made  a  report  which  has  been  pub- 
lished, and  in  wThich  this  language  is  used. 

"  Who  would  credit  it,  that  in  these  years  of  revival 
and  benevolent  effort,  in  this  Christian  republic,  there 
are  over  two  millions  of  human  beings  in  the  condition 
of  heathen,  and  in  some  respects  in  a  worse  condition. 
From  long  continued  and  close  observation,  we  believe 
that  their  moral  and  religious  condition  is  such  that 
they  may  justly  be  considered  the  heathen  of  this 
Christian  country,  and  will  bear  comparison  with  hea- 
then in  any  country  in  the  world.  The  negroes  are 
destitute  of  the  gospel,  and  ever  will  he  under  the  pre- 
sent state  of  things" 

In  a  late  number  of  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Observer, 
a  correspondent  remarked :  "  Let  us  establish  missiona- 
ries among  our  own  negroes,  who,  in  view  of  religious 
knowledge,  are  as  debasingly  ignorant  as  any  one  on 
the  coast  of  Africa ;  for  I  hazard  the  assertion,  that 
through  the  bounds  of  our  Synod,  there  are  at  least  one 
hundred  thousand  slaves,  speaking  the  same  language 
as  ourselves,  who  never  heard  of  the  plan  of  salvation 
by  a  Redeemer."  (Jay's  Inquiry,  pp.  136,  &c.) 

Now  shall  all  our  Christian  sympathies  be  frozen  up — 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  191 

shall  the  churches  of  our  land  remain  in  profound 
silence,  in  regard  to  the  perishing  condition  of  the  two 
millions  of  heathens  in  our  own  country,  while  we  em- 
ploy benevolent  missionary  agents  to  solicit  contribu- 
tions to  send  the  gospel  to  the  heathens  of  the  other 
hemisphere  1  Our  missionary  zeal  must  be  purified 
from  such  glaring  inconsistency,  before  we  can  reason- 
ably expect  to  make  a  very  extensive  and  favourable 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  either  Jews  or  Gentiles. 

But  what  is  most  astonishing,  we  are  called  upon  to 
believe  that  the  two  millions  of  heathens  in  our  country, 
by  being  kept  from  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  by  Re- 
publican Christians,  are  thereby  consigned  to  inevitable 
reprobation,  and  to  the  miseries  of  an  endless  hell.  A 
writer  in  the  Anti-slavery  Magazine,  calls  slavery  "  A 
legalized  system  of  oppression,  which  consigns  millions 
of  God's  children  to  insufferable  wrongs  and  unutter- 
able misery  in  this  world,  and  to  agony  and  despair  in 
the  future."  (Anti-slavery  Magazine,  vol.  II.  No.  1.  p. 
52.)  Hence  it  would  appear,  that  because  these  poor 
creatures  are  compelled  to  endure  "  insufferable  wrongs 
and  unutterable  misery  in  this  world,"  their  Maker 
therefore  takes  the  matter  up  after  they  are  dead,  and 
keeps  them  in  "agony  and  despair"  to  all  eternity! 
This  seems  to  imply,  that  however  great  may  be  the 
despotism  and  tyranny  of  mankind,  the  Almighty  Lord 
of  nature  resolves  to  keep  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
list,  as  the  greatest  tyrant  of  all. 

We  contend,  that  those  neglected  negroes  either  have 


192  SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD. 

it  in  their  power  to  obtain  their  Maker's  final  favour, 
or  otherwise  they  are  not  in  a  state  of  probation  at  all  ; 
and  consequently  are  not  exposed  to  "  agony  and  de- 
spair" in  a  future  state. 

Our  last  though  not  least  objection  to  the  hypothesis 
before  us,  is  that  it  assumes  for  Protestant  clergymen 
one  of  the  worst  and  most  presumptuous  claims  of 
popery.  Roman  Catholics  tell  us,  that  "there  is  no 
salvation  out  of  the  church,"  and  that  the  grace  of  sal- 
vation can  only  be  conve}7ed  from  the  church  through 
the  hands  of  her  ministry :  Heretics  and  Heathens  must 
all  be  damned,  except  they  receive  salvation  through 
this  channel  exclusively.  Now  Protestants,  who  hold 
the  doctrine  which  we  here  oppose,  evidently  set  up  the 
same  identical  claim :  they  say  that  Heathens  cannot 
be  saved,  except  they  receive  salvation  through  the 
hand  of  our  missionaries,  and  missionary  societies. 

If  these  people  cannot  be  instructed  unto  salvation  in 
any  other  way,  than  through  our  instrumentality,  it 
must  be  either  because  God  has  no  power  to  save  them 
in  any  other  way,  or  because  he  has  no  right  to  do  it, 
or  because  he  has  no  will  to  do  it.  It  will  peradventure 
be  urged,  that  though  God  possesses  both  the  power 
and  the  right  to  save  the  Heathens  through  other  medi- 
ums of  illumination,  yet  it  is  not  his  will ;  for  he  has 
engaged  or  pledged  himself  not  to  save  them  except 
through  our  ministrations ;  which  is  the  identical  claim 
of  the  Romish  priesthood,  that  God  has  pledged  himself 
to  them,  that  salvation  shall  not  flow  either  to  Heretics 


SUPPOSED  PARTIALITY  OF  GOD.  193 

or  Heathens,  except  through  the  medium  of  their  sanc- 
tified authority. 

But  why  should  the  great  Sovereign  of  the  world  thus 
restrict  himself,  and  give  the  power  of  salvation  out -of 
his  own  hands  1  May  he  not  do  what  he  will  with  his 
own  1  Shall  our  eye  be  evil  because  he  is  good  \  Not 
only  the  power  of  salvation,  but  the  power  of  judgment 
also,  according  to  this  hypothesis,  appears  to  be  given 
out  of  his  hands ;  for  if  our  missionaries  have  the  pre- 
rogative of  putting  men  into  a  state  of  probation,  the 
Almighty  would  seem  to  be  dependent  on  them  for  his 
authority  to  judge  the  Heathen  world  in  righteousness. 

Such,  and  more,  are  the  consequences  resulting  from 
the  favourite  hypothesis  of  modern  times,  that  the  whole 
Heathen  world  have  been  kept  in  life  for  centuries,  for 
the  simple  purpose  of  being  indiscriminately  consigned 
to  the  miseries  of  an  endless  hell. 

Alas,  for  poor  sectarian,  bigoted  man !  if  he  had  the 
prerogative  to  wield  the  thunders  of  eternity,  what  mil- 
lions would  by  wholesale  be  hurried  quickly  into  una- 
voidable and  eternal  ruin !  What  a  spectacle,  to  see 
Jews  damn  all  Gentiles  —  Gentiles  damn  all  Jews — 
Roman  Catholics  damn  all  Protestants  —  and  Protest- 
ants damn  all  Roman  Catholics  !  Let  heaven  and  earth 
be  glad,  and  shout  for  joy,  that  "  The  Lord  is  Judge 
himself."  Let  the  redeemed  millions  of  heaven  say 
Alleluia,  and  let  them  repeat  the  triumphant  exclama- 
tion, Alleluia,  that  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth ! 
17  i 


194  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

and  that  he  has  not  committed  the  eternal  destiny  of  any 
creature  to  the  sovereign  decision  of  human  selfishness 
and  sectarian  bigotry. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Imaginary  Decrees  of  God  in  reference  to  Individuals. 

That  Almighty  God  has  formed  decrees,  is  too  mani- 
fest to  be  reasonably  doubted.  The  plan  of  Creation 
may  be  called  a  system  of  decrees  ;  the  plan  of  Re- 
demption, another ;  the  plan  of  Providence,  a  third  ; 
and  the  plan  of  moral  government,  a  fourth.  Every 
'precept  of  God  may  be  called  a  decree  ;  and  so  may 
every  promise,  and  every  threatening. 

But  has  he  formed  particular  decrees,  in  regard  to 
mankind  1  Without  question  he  has.  He  has  decreed, 
for  example,  that  every  man  shall  be  governed  as  a  free 
agent ;  that  it  shall  be  accepted  according  to  that  a 
man  hath,  and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not ;  that 
every  one  of  us  shall  give  an  account  of  himself  to 
God ;  and  that  the  world  shall  be  judged  in  righteous- 
ness. 

But  the  supposition  that  God  has  decreed  the  eternal 
happiness  of  some  men,  and  the  eternal  misery  of  others, 
without  regard  to  their  actions,  or  by  predestinating 
those  actions,  appears  to  be  an  entire  misrepresentation 
of  his  whole  character. 


IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD.  195 

What  sincerity  is  there  in  our  Maker's  revealed  will, 
if  he  has  a  secret  will  which  renders  the  former  only  an 
appearance  of  justly  governing  and  judging  moral 
agents,  without  doing  so  in  reality  1  The  whole  Bible 
has  the  appearance  of  an  address  to  free  agents ;  being 
filled  up  with  invitations,  commands,  promises,  threat- 
enings,  persuasions,  arguments  and  expostulations.  Do 
not  all  these  modes  of  address  look  like  an  appeal  to  us 
as  creatures  whose  character  and  destiny  are  to  be 
fixed  by  our  own  unconstrained  volitions  1  And  is  not 
all  this  a  mere  deception,  if  our  character  and  destiny 
have  been  previously  fixed  by  an  unconditional  and  im- 
mutable decree  ?  It  is  not  necessary  to  detain  the  read- 
er, by  showing  the  inconsistency  of  this  notion  of  decrees 
with  each  particular  attribute  of  God ;  because  it  is  evi- 
dent that  a  being  destitute  of  sincerity,  can  possess  no 
good  attribute  whatever.  The  two  prominent  traits  of 
the  devil's  character  are  said  to  be  deceit  and  malevo- 
lence :  he  is  a  liar,  and  he  is  a  murderer. 

Now  if  the  Almighty  predetermined  that  certain  an- 
gels and  men  should  be  miserable  in  hell  for  ever,  either 
by  purposing  to  send  them  there  without  regard  to  their 
works,  or  by  predestinating  their  actions,  how  would 
this  differ  from  his  placing  them  in  hell  at  the  first  mo- 
ment of  their  existence  ?  Would  not  such  a  procedure 
evince  malevolence  of  disposition  1  And  is  not  malevo-  ( 
lence  the  spirit  of  a  murderer?  To  what  purpose  would 
creatures,  thus  destined,  have  a  probation  given  them, 
except  to  make  a  show  of  just  dealing  and  a  righteous 


196  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

administration,  when  the  reality  was  wanting  ?  If  such 
questions  alarm  us,  let  us  draw  back  with  horror  from 
imputations  upon  our  Maker  which  would  despoil  him 
of  all  his  loveliness,  and  deprive  mankind  of  all  religious 
hope  and  consolation. 

By  what  arguments  is  this  notion  of  eternal  decrees 
sustained  ?  The  principal  arguments  which  have  come 
under  our  notice  are  the  following : 

First,  It  is  supposed  that  the  good  pleasure  of  the  di- 
vine will  requires  that  all  things  should  be  thus  decreed. 
And  would  it  be  a  pleasant  prospect  to  our  Creator — a 
pleasure  to  his  will, — to  see  millions  of  his  own  creatures 
in  hopeless  and  endless  misery,  as  the  result  of  an  abso- 
lute decree  of  his  own,  which  either  punished  them 
without  regard  to  their  works,  or  predestinated  a  course 
of  actions  which  should  fit  them  for  this  misery  1  The 
Lord  our  God  appeals  to  his  own  life,  that  he  has  no 
pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked  ;  but  that  he  has 
pleasure  in  seeing  the  wicked  man  turn  from  his  evil 
way  that  he  may  live. 

Secondly,  it  is  supposed  that  the  divine  sovereignty 
requires  such  a  procedure;  inasmuch  as  God  has  a  right 
to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own.  But  would  it  be  right 
for  him  to  place  all  men  and  angels  in  hell  at  their  first 
existence,  and  punish  them  without  intermission  and  with- 
out end,  because  they  are  his  own  ?  If  this  be  the  sove- 
reignty of  a  good  Being,  by  what  marks  and  charac- 
teristics will  it  be  distinguished  from  the  sovereignty  of 
a  Tyrant  ?    It  is  evident,  if  the  argument  be  conclusive 


IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD.  197 

in  regard  to  any  one  creature  of  God,  it  will  equally 
conclude  against  them  all ;  for  they  are  all  alike  his 
own,  and  of  course  could  all  alike  be  punished  in  virtue 
of  the  same  sovereignty. 

Thirdly,  it  has  been  supposed  that  divine  justice  re- 
quires that  there  should  be  reprobates ;  for  if  all  crea- 
tures were  free,  they  might  all  do  right,  and  there  would 
be  no  hell ;  and  if  there  be  no  hell,  justice  will  have  no 
place  in  which  to  display  itself.  And  pray,  is  there  not 
as  much  justice  in  heaven,  as  there  is  in  hell  ?  Is  jus- 
tice such  a  corrupt  and  evil  principle,  that  there  is  no 
room  for  it  in  heaven?  Let  us  suppose  for  a  moment, 
that  an  unjust  being  should  wish  to  make  a  display  of 
his  injustice,  how  would  it  be  possible  for  him  to  do  it 
more  effectually  than  by  ordaining  sin,  that  he  might 
thereby  have  a  plausible  pretence  for  placing  creatures 
in  extreme  torment,  in  order  to  keep  them  there  without 
intermission  and  without  end  ?  If  this  would  be  a  per- 
fect display  both  of  justice  and  injustice,  how  is  the  one 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  other  1 

Fourthly,  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  eternal  de- 
crees above  mentioned,  are  required  by  the  ivisdom  of 
God ;  inasmuch  as  it  is  folly  in  any  being  to  operate 
without  a  plan. 

Now  in  regard  to  the  operations  of  a  superintending 
mind,  two  kinds  of  plan  are  to  be  distinctly  considered: 
one  is  the  plan  of  controlling  and  regulating  a  system 
of  machinery ;  the  other  is  the  plan  of  governing  a  king- 
dom or  community  of  moral  agents.  To  the  machinery, 
17* 


198  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

force  is  applied  in  various  directions,  according  to  the 
design  of  the  superintendent ;  to  the  subjects  of  a  moral 
government  commands,  promises,  and  threatenings,  are 
given ;  because  the  wise  design  of  the  Ruler  is  to  govern 
them  by  motives,  and  not  by  mechanical  impulse.  Shall 
it  be  said  of  the  ruler  of  a  kingdom  or  commonwealth, 
that  he  acts  without  a  plan,  because  he  does  not  decree 
and  make  inevitable  every  particular  action  of  those 
under  his  administration  1  According  to  this  view,  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  wise  government  upon  earth :  they 
are  all  founded  in  folly,  for  want  of  effectual  decrees 
that  shall  fix  an  unbroken  chain  of  destiny  for  all  the 
actions  of  each  individual. 

Query.  Does  it  not  require  more  wisdom  to  govern 
a  society  of  free  agents,  than  to  govern  a  complicated 
machine,  such  as  a  water-mill,  a  cotton  factory,  or  a 
steam-boat  1  And  has  not  God  wisdom  enough  to  form 
a  plan  of  governing  free  agents,  without  despoiling  them 
of  their  liberty,  by  such  a  system  of  decrees  ?  Alas  ! 
this  notion  of  predestination  evidently  supposes  there  is 
such  a  want  of  wisdom  in  the  Almighty,  that  he  cannot 
form  a  plan  of  governing  the  intelligent  universe,  with- 
out first  binding  them  all,  that  he  may  take  the  whole 
action  entirely  into  his  own  hands. 

It  is  urged,  fifthly,  that  the  decrees  of  God  under 
consideration,  are  required  by  his  fore-knowledge. 

Now  in  order  to  form  correct  views  of  this  matter, 
we  must  carefully  avoid  confounding  things  which  in 
their  own  nature  are  essentially  different.     What  is  a 


IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD.  199 

decree?  It  is  a  voluntary  purpose  of  the  will.  What  is 
knowledge  ?  It  is  the  discernment  of  the  understanding. 
Whether  we  speak  of  fore  ?  or  after,  or  present  know- 
ledge, its  nature  is  the  same :  a  mere  mental  survey, 
taking  cognizance  of  truth  and  fact,  in  regard  to  exist- 
ence, qualities,  relations,  and  operations.  Past  know- 
ledge we  call  remembrance ;  present  knowledge,  percep- 
tion or  discernment;  and  a  knowledge  of  the  future, 
foreknowledge  or  prescience.  The  different  .parts  of 
time,  past,  present,  and  future,  make  no  change  what- 
ever in  the  nature  of  knowledge ;  and  a  prescience  of 
future  events  has  no  other  kind  of  connection  with  the 
events  themselves,  than  remembrance  has  with  past 
events. 

The  proposition,  that  the  decrees  of  God  are  involved 
in  his  foreknowledge,  must  mean  one  of  these  three 
things :  either  1.  that  God  decrees  future  events,  in  order 
to  know  them;  or  2.  that  he  decrees  them,  because  he 
knows  them ;  or  3.  that  his  knowledge  itself  brings  them 
to  pass  of  necessity. 

In  regard  to  the  first,  that  God  decrees  future  events 
in  order  to  know  them,  it  supposes  that  His  knowledge, 
like  our  own,  is  acquired  by  voluntary  application :  his 
will  must  be  exerted,  in  forming  decrees  of  what  is  to 
be  done,  before  he  can  have  a  knowledge  of  any  thing ! 
Then  does  it  not  follow,  that  without  a  due  exercise  of 
his  voluntary  powers,  in  forming  a  train  of  absolute 
purposes  and  decrees,  he  must  have  remained  in  eternal 
ignorance  of  every  thing  1     If  God  can  know  nothing, 


200  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

but  in  virtue  of  first  arranging  it  by  his  decree,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  decree  itself  must  be  formed  in  the  dark, 
without  any  intelligence  to  discern  a  reason  why  one 
kind  of  a  decree  should  be  resolved  upon,  rather  than 
another. 

We  are  conscious  that  we  can  foreknow,  with  a  high 
degree  of  probability,  what  our  fellow-men  will  do,  when 
at  the  same  time  we  do  not  form  any  decree,  nor  exert 
any  power  whatever  to  influence  their  actions.  Then 
cannot  our  Creator  foreknow  with  certainty  the  uncon- 
strained actions  of  his  creatures  1  This  is  unquestiona- 
bly more  honourable  to  the  Divine  understanding,  than 
to  suppose  God  can  foreknow  nothing  without  resolving 
to  bring  it  to  pass  himself. 

As  to  the  second  supposition,  that  God  decrees  all 
things  because  he  fore-knows  them ; — we  may  simply 
ask,  if  he  already  knows  they  will  come  to  pass,  why 
need  he  decree  them,  in  order  to  their  accomplishment  ? 
He  may  fore-know  what  other  agents  will  do  under 
given  circumstances,  and  may  decree  to  vary  the  cir- 
cumstances, in  order  to  prevent  their  doing  what  they 
otherwise  would  do ;  but  when  he  fore-sees  what  they 
will  do,  and  does  not  intend  to  prevent  it,  a  decree  to 
bring  it  to  pass  by  his  own  power,  would  appear  to  be 
a  perfect  superfluity,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  As  to  the 
saying  which  we  sometimes  hear,  that  God  decrees  to 
permit  certain  events,  we  have  no  objection  to  it ;  be- 
cause it  means  nothing  more  nor  less  than  this,  that  He 
purposes  not  to  hinder  them  by  superior  power. 


IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD.  201 

That  God  fore-knows  with  certainty  what  men  wrill 
do  under  given  circumstances,  which  yet  they  do  not 
perform,  in  consequence  of  a  change  of  those  circum- 
stances, is  evident  from  1  Sam.  xxiii.  10,  &c.  "  Then 
said  David,  O  Lord  God  of  Israel,  thy  servant  hath  cer- 
tainly heard  that-  Saul  seeketh  to  come  to  Keilah,  to 
destroy  the  city  for  my  sake.  Will  the  men  of  Keilah 
deliver  me  up  into  his  hand?  Will  Saul  come  dowrn, 
as  thy  servant  hath  heard  ?  And  the  Lord  said,  He  will 
come  down.  Then  said  David,  Will  the  men  of  Keilah 
deliver  me  and  my  men  into  the  hand  of  Saul  1  And 
the  Lord  said,  They  will  deliver  thee  up.  Then  David 
and  his  men  arose  and  departed  out  of  Keilah.  And 
it  was  told  Saul  that  David  was  escaped  from  Keilah ; 
and  he  forbare  to  go  forth."  Who  can  doubt  the  abso- 
lute certainty  of  the  Divine  fore-knowledge,  that  Saul 
would  have  gone  to  Keilah  and  that  its  inhabitants 
would  have  delivered  up  David,  had  he  continued  in 
their  city?  Yet  by  a  change  of  the  circumstances, 
Saul  did  not  come  down,  and  the  men  of  Keilah  did 
not  deliver  David  into  his  hands.  David  appears  not 
to  have  had  any  suspicion  that  the  fore-knowledge  of 
God  had  any  influence  upon  the  actions  of  free  agents ; 
otherwise  he  would  have  folded  his  hands  in  despair, 
and  have  made  no  attempt  to  make  his  escape,  because 
of  his  conviction  that  the  expressed  fore-knowledge  of 
God  had  fixed  his  destiny  inevitably. 

This  divine  attribute  of  God,  whereby  he  foresees 
what  his  creatures  will  do  under  given  circumstances, 


202  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

with  complete  power  in  his  own  hands  to  vary  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  thereby  to  vary  their  conduct,  without 
interrupting  their  agency,  is  doubtless  of  immense  im- 
portance in  his  universal  and  eternal  administration. 
This  view  of  the  matter  may  illustrate  Pro  v.  xxi.  1. 
"  The  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  as  the 
rivers  of  water ;  he  turneth  it  whithersoever  he  will." 
Also  Psalm  cxlvi.  9.  "  The  way  of  the  wicked  he  turn- 
eth upside  down." 

We  will  now  examine  the  third  supposition,  that  fore- 
knowledge itself  brings  all  events  to  pass  of  necessity. 
Let  the  matter  be  stated  fairly.  It  is  supposed  to  be 
admitted  on  all  hands,  that  the  knowledge  of  God  is  not. 
acquired  by  the  exercise  of  his  will ;  but  that  it  is  so 
perfect  in  his  infinite  understanding,  as  to  be  incapable 
of  cither  increase  or  diminution.  That  from  the  per- 
fection of  his  mind  he  discerns,  or  knows,  all  things  past, 
present,  and  to  come,  without  the  possibility  of  mistake 
or  of  being  ignorant  of  any  thing.  And  is  there  some- 
thing in  the  nature  of  this  knowledge,  which  binds  all 
events  in  a  fixed  and  absolute  necessity?  If  so,  all 
agency  is  at  an  end ;  and  God,  fore-knowing  his  own 
future  actions  with  as  much  certainty  as  he  knows  the 
future  actions  of  any  other  being,  is  for  ever  bound  in 
the  same  fatal  chains  of  necessity,  and  possesses  not  the 
attribute  of  power,  in  the  smallest  conceivable  degree. 
If  so,  he  never  made  the  world,  only  as  necessity  com- 
pelled his  action.  He  is  not  the  giver  of  life  to  us,  if 
the  above  hypothesis  be  true ;  for  our  life  arose  out  of 


IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD.  203 

necessity,  and  he  could  not  hinder  us  from  living.  On 
this  supposition  he  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  benefactor; 
for  it  was  never  in  his  power  to  withhold  any  benefit 
which  we  have  received.  We  cannot  trust  to  him  for 
protection,  or  for  any  good  thing  in  future ;  because 
both  God  and  man  must  be  dependent  on  necessity  alone 
for  every  enjoyment,  and  for  every  prospect.  On  this 
supposition,  God  can  do  no  more  for  us,  than  we  can 
do  for  him  :  for  his  infinite  knowledge,  of  which  he  can- 
not dispossess  himself,  fixes  him  and  the  whole  universe 
with  him  in  a  fatal  and  absolute  destiny,  which  can 
never  be  broken.  It  is  needless  to  pursue  the  matter 
any  further ;  for  it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  the  hypo- 
thesis from  which  these  consequences  follow,  would 
eclipse  the  glory  of  the  universe,  and  would  land  us  in 
a  system  not  one  tittle  better  than  atheism. 

And  what  proof  have  we,  that  fore-knowledge,  the 
mere  exercise  of  a  mind  in  mental  discernment,  has 
any  possible  influence  upon  the  actions  of  a  free  agent  ? 
Suppose  I  now  see  a  man  sowing  seed  in  his  field ; — 
and  suppose  I  have  the  capacity  to  foresee,  with  equal 
certainty,  that  he  will  employ  himself  in  the  same  busi- 
ness to-morrow ; — will  my  fore  knoidedge  have  any  other 
influence  upon  his  actions  of  to-morrow,  than  my  pre- 
sent knoidedge  has  upon  his  actions  of  to-day  ?  Will  he 
not  be  as  perfectly  free  as  he  would  be,  if  I  and  every 
other  being  in  existence  were  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  would  employ  himself?  If  I  fore- 
see that  a  man  will  walk  to-morrow,  this  does  not  make 


204  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

his  action  necessary;  and  my  certainty  of  the  event 
depends  upon  the  goodness  of  my  eyes,  which  are  so 
good,  that  I  can  see  a  free  action  as  readily  as  a  neces- 
sary one.  In  like  manner,  the  certainty  of  our  Maker's 
foresight  of  an  action  depends  upon  the  perfection  of 
his  intelligence,  which  is  so  perfect,  that  he  can  foresee 
a  free  action  as  readily  as  a  necessary  one.  But  if  you 
foresee  it  as  certain,  continues  the  objector,  then  it  could 
not  be  otherwise.  As  well  might  he  say,  if  I  now  cer- 
tainly see  a  man  walking,  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  stand 
still.  It  is  indeed  impossible  for  me  to  see  it,  and  not  to 
see  it,  at  the  same  time  ;  and  equally  impossible  for  a 
man  to  xcalk,  and  not  to  walk,  at  the  same  time  ;  but  in- 
fallible foresight  is  founded,  not  upon  the  fact  that  a 
man  cannot  change  his  course  of  action,  but  upon  a 
perfect  discernment  that  he  will  not.  The  foresight  of 
our  Maker  is  certain  that  a  man  will  act  freely ;  that 
the  wicked  man  can,  but  will  not,  omit  his  wicked  ac- 
tions. Our  Creator  knows  that  if  it  were  possible  for 
Him  to  look  away  from  the  world,  and  not  to  foresee 
the  future  actions  of  men  for  the  space  of  one  year, 
men  would  not  act  any  more  freely  and  voluntarily 
during  that  year,  than  they  do  at  the  present  time. 

The  inquiring  mind  wishes  to  pursue  this  subject  a 
little  further.  Though  the  fore-knowledge  of  God  may 
have  no  immediate  influence  upon  the  actions  of  crea- 
tures, yet  may  we  not  suppose  it  will  have  an  immedi- 
ate influence  upon  his  own  actions,  with  regard  to 
them  1     It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  his  perfect  foresight 


IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD.  205 

of  the  actions  of  free  agents,  and  how  they  would  act 
under  certain  trains  of  circumstances,  regulates  his 
voluntary  administration,  in  controlling,  checking,  re- 
straining, and  sometimes  entirely  preventing  the  actions 
which  men  would  otherwise  perform :  not,  however,  by 
taking  away  their  agency,  but  by  varying  the  circum- 
stances by  which  they  may  be  surrounded. 

But  if  God  foresaw  all  the  wickedness  and  misery  of 
mankind,  why  did  he  not  prevent  it,  by  cutting  off  the 
first  guilty  pair,  that  the  earth  might  not  be  peopled 
with  such  a  corrupt  and  abandoned  race  of  beings? 
Doubtless  because,  from  his  vast  survey  through  im- 
mensity and  eternity,  he  foresaw  that  far  more  good 
than  evil  would  ultimately  result  from  this  course  of 
providence.  His  fore-knowledge  is  with  himself  alone, 
and  enables  him  to  counteract  evil,  and  to  form  the 
most  efficient  plans  for  promoting  virtue  and  happiness. 

For  the  sake  of  illustration,  let  us  suppose  the  father 
of  a  family  to  live  on  an  island  by  himself,  and  that  his 
children  live  on  a  distant  continent,  over  whose  actions 
he  has  no  manner  of  control :  let  us  suppose  this  father 
to  be  endowed  with  a  perfect  and  infallible  foreknow- 
ledge of  all  the  actions  his  children  will  perform  to  the 
end  of  life :  is  it  not  obvious  that  his  knowledge  could 
have  no  more  influence  upon  their  liberty,  than  the  most 
entire  ignorance  would  have  ?  Their  actions  would  be 
equally  free,  whether  known  or  unknown,  and  equally 
certain  also.  The  prescience  of  the  father  would  ena- 
18 


206  IMAGINARY  DECREES  OF  GOD. 

ble  him  to  know  the  certainty  of  his  children's  actions, 
but  would  not  make  them  any  more  certain  than  they 
would  be,  if  he  were  ignorant  of  the  whole  matter. 
Whatever  a  man  will  do,  he  certainly  will  do ;  for  to 
deny  this  is  to  say  he  will  do  it,  and  will  not  do  it,  at  the 
same  time ;  and  the  certainty  of  it  is  the  same,  whether 
foreknown  by  any  being,  or  unforeknown. 

Now  in  what  respect  does  the  Divine  fore-knowledge 
differ  from  the  case  supposed  1  It  differs  in  this  only, 
that  God  has  fore-knowledge  of  what  creatures  would 
do  under  certain  circumstances,  and  what  they  will  do 
upon  a  change  of  those  circumstances ;  and  has  power 
to  control  them  in  any  manner  he  pleases.  Hence  all 
the  influence  this  knowledge  can  have  is  upon  his  own 
Mind ;  and  it  will  doubtless  influence  Him  so  to  arrange 
his  providence  and  government,  as  will  operate  in  the 
best  manner  possible,  to  promote  holiness  and  happiness, 
and  consequently  to  diminish  sin  and  misery,  throughout 
his  whole  empire. 

Fore-knowledge  has  therefore  no  manner  of  influence 
either  on  the  necessity  or  certainty  of  future  events. 
There  must  be  a  volition  of  will,  or  an  actual  exertion 
of  power,  on  the  part  of  the  Almighty,  to  make  the 
future  actions  of  men  or  angels  certain ;  and  when  he 
omits  the  exercise  of  such  power,  their  future  actions 
are  made  certain  by  their  own  agency,  and  by  no  other 
cause  whatever.  While  God  knows  what  future  ac- 
tions are  certain,  he  knows  equally  that  he  himself  does 


CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  207 

nothing  to  make  them  certain,  except  that  he  leaves  his 
creatures  to  the  freedom  of  their  own  will. 

If  we  consider  the  Divine  prospects  of  futurity  —  the 
vast  results  which  God  sees  will  be  produced  by  his 
providence  and  grace  before  the  end  of  the  world,  to- 
gether with  their  consequences  through  immensity  and 
eternity — we  shall  have  cause  to  acknowledge  that  our 
gloomy  objections  arise  from  our  own  ignorance,  and 
not  from  any  deficiency  in  either  the  wisdom  or  benevo- 
lence of  our  Heavenly  Father's  dispensations.  Clouds 
and  darkness  are  round  about  him,  whereby  our  vision 
is  greatly  circumscribed ;  but  He  sits  above  the  clouds, 
and  above  the  darkness,  and  foresees  vast  developements 
of  wisdom,  and  glory,  and  goodness,  which  have  never 
entered  into  our  hearts  to  conceive. 


SECTION  IX. 

Causes  of  future  'punishment. 

To  say  that  God  will  punish  creatures  in  a  future 
state  for  no  reason,  or  for  any  other  than  good  and  suf- 
ficient reasons,  is  to  misrepresent'  his  character. 

Some  appear  to  think  it  is  enough  for  us  to  know 
that  he  says  he  will  do  it ;  and  that  it  is  presumptuous 
for  us  to  inquire  into  the  reasons  of  the  Divine  conduct. 
But  if  so,  how  is  it  possible  for  us  to  know  whether  God 
deserves  our  love  and  confidence  or  not  ?     And  if  we 


208  CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

cannot  know  this,  how  can  we  love  him,  or  trust  him, 
or  reverence,  adore,  and  worship  him  1  We  might  be 
frightened  to  obey  him,  from  the  dread  of  future  pun- 
ishment ;  but  there  would  be  no  principle  in  this  obedi- 
ence ;  nor  would  it  be  accompanied  with  any  rational 
attachment  either  to  the  law  or  to  the  lawgiver.  The 
mere  apprehension  of  future  wrath  may  excite  the 
attention  of  the  mind,  and  rouse  the  stupid  sinner  to 
consideration;  but  he  must  be  brought  to  have  such 
views  of  God  as  will  produce  reverence  and  love,  be- 
fore he  can  be  accepted  of  God,  or  be  qualified  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  uniform  testimony  of  the  Bible  is  that  God  will 
punish  men  for  having  done  ivrong,  when  they  ought  to 
have  done  right.  "  Say  ye  to  the  righteous,  that  it 
shall  be  well  with  him ;  wo  unto  the  wicked  !  it  shall 
be  ill  with  him."  (Isa.  iii.  10.)  "  The  Lord  knoweth  the 
upright,  and  their  inheritance  shall  be  for  ever.  But 
the  wicked  shall  perish,  and  into  smoke  shall  they  con- 
sume away."  (Ps.  xxxvii.  18.)  "  The  righteous  shall 
nourish  like  the  palm-tree ; — to  show  that  the  Lord  is 
upright,  and  there  is  no  unrighteousness  in  him."  (Ps. 
xcii.  12,  15.)  "The  Lord  loveth  the  righteous;  but 
the  way  of  the  wicked  he  turneth  upside  down."  (Ps. 
cxlvi.  8,  9.)  "  Then  shall  ye  discern  between  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  ;  between  him  that  serveth 
God,  and  him  that  serveth  him  not."  (Mai.  iii.  18.) 
"  The  Son  of  man  shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all 
things  that  offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity  ; — Then 


CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  209 

shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun,  in  the  king- 
dom of  their  Father."  (Matt.  xiii.  41.  43.)  "  All  that 
are  in  the  graves  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done 
good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life  ;  and  they  that  have 
done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."  (John, 
v.  28,  29.)  "  For  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ ;  that  every  one  may  receive  accord- 
ing to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad." 
(2  Cor.  v.  10.) 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  quotations  of  the  above 
description,  by  scores  and  by  hundreds.  And  what  do 
they  prove  ?  They  prove  it  to  be  the  constant  and  une- 
quivocal testimony  of  God,  throughout  the  whole  of  his 
revelation,  that  he  will  deal  with  men  in  a  future  state, 
not  according  to  their  name,  or  colour,  or  nation,  or 
party,  or  creed;  but  according  to  the  reality  of  their 

GOOD  OR  EVIL  CHARACTER. 

From  this  general  statement,  we  may  deduce  the 
three  following  conclusions : 

First,  that  men  will  not  be  condemned  in  a  future 
state  for  any  other  ignorance  than  that  which  disregards 
the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  will  not  consider  the  opera- 
tion of  his  hand. 

If  men  deserve  hell  for  ignorance  that  does  not  result 
from  any  delinquency  of  principle,  or  neglect  of  right 
conduct,  all  infants,  idiots,  and  even  beasts,  birds  and 
fishes,  would  equally  deserve  the  same  fate. 

A  passage  of  the  prophet  Hosea  has  been  often  quoted, 
to  prove  that  men  are  to  be  punished  in  a  future  state 
18*  i* 


210  CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

for  mere  ignorance :  My  people  are  destroyed  for  lack 
of  knowledge.  (Hosea,  iv.  6.)  It  seems  to  be  supposed 
that  the  Lord  was  here  speaking  of  a  mere  want  of 
instruction ;  whereas  the  chapter  commences  thus : 
"  The  Lord  hath  a  controversy  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land,  because  there  is  no  truth,  nor  mercy,  nor  know- 
ledge of  God,  in  the  land.  By  swearing,  and  lying,  and 
killing,  and  stealing,  and  committing  adultery,  they 
break  out,  and  blood  toucheth  blood."  Did  they  lack 
knowledge,  merely  because  their  teachers  neglected  to 
instruct  them  1  So  far  from  it,  that  the  prophet  says 
(verse  4.)  '  yet  let  no  man  strive,  nor  reprove  another : 
for  this  people  are  they  that  strive  with  the  priest.  There- 
fore shalt  thou  fall,  and  the  prophet  also  shall  fall  with 
thee,  and  I  will  destroy  thy  mother.'  It  then  follows, 
'  My  people  are  destroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge ;'  but 
what  was  the  cause  of  this  lack  ?  In  the  very  same 
verse  we  are  told  what  it  was :  "  Because  thou  hast 
rejected  knowledge,  I  will  reject  thee:  seeing  thou 
hast  forgotten  the  law  of  thy  God,  I  will  also  forget 
thy  children.  As  they  were  increased,  so  they  sinned 
against  me;  therefore  will  I  change  their  glory  into 
shame.  And  there  shall  be  like  people,  like  priest :  and 
I  will  punish  them  for  their  ways,  and  reward  them  their 
doings :  because  they  have  left  off  to  take  heed  to  the 
Lord"  Two  other  reasons  are  immediately  given,  why 
they  lacked  knowledge  :  the  first  is,  (verse  11.)  "Whore- 
dom, and  wine,  and  new  wine,  take  away  the  heart." 
The  second  is,  "  My  people  ask  counsel  at  their  stocks, 


CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  211 

and  their  staff  declareth  unto  them :  for  the  spirit  of 
whoredoms  hath  caused  them  to  err,  and  they  have  gone 
from  under  their  God.  Therefore  the  people  that  doth 
not  understand  shall  fall."    (Verse  14.) 

These  are  the  reasons  why  people  are  condemned 
for  their  ignorance  ;  to  which  we  may  add  the  follow- 
ing :  "  The  ox  knoweth  his  owner — but  Israel  doth  not 
know,  my  people  doth  not  consider."  (Isa.  i.  2.)  "Wo 
unto  them — they  ^regard  not  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
neither  consider  the  operation  of  his  hands."  (Isa.  v. 
12.)  "  How  long,  ye  simple  ones,  will  ye  love  simpli- 
city, and  the  scorners  delight  in  their  scorning,  and 
fools  hate  knowledge  !"  (Prov.  i.  22.)  "  Because  I 
have  called,  and  ye  refused  ;  but  ye  have  set  at 
nought  all  my  counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof;  I 
also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity ; — for  that  they  hated 
knowledge,  and  did  not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord." 
(Verse  24 — 29.)  "  They  say  unto  God,  Depart  from 
us ;  for  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways." 
(Job  xxi.  14.)  "  Even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a  repro- 
bate mind."    (Rom.  i.  28.) 

Secondly,  the  only  kind  of  error,  heresy,  or  unbelief 
for  which  men  will  be  condemned  in  a  future  state,  is 
"  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from  the  living 
God." 

How  much  truth  is  a  man  required  to  believe,  in  order 
to  his  salvation  1  So  much  exactly  as  he  is  able  to  findy 
by  an  humble  and  candid  attention  to  his  Maker's  in- 


212  CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

structions.  On  what  authority  is  a  man  required  to 
believe?  On  the  authority  of  God  alone.  For  any 
error  or  mistake  into  which  a  man  may  fall  from  other 
causes  than  inattention  or  want  of  candour,  he  is  incul- 
pable ;  and  to  say  God  will  punish  any  one  eternally  for 
involuntary  errors,  is  to  bring  an  impeachment  against 
the  perfection  of  his  whole  character.  It  supposes  he 
will  condemn  a  man  for  not  being  as  infallible  as  him- 
self; and  why  not  as  well  condemn  every  one  that 
refuses  or  neglects  to  be  as  omnipresent  or  as  almighty 
as  God  himself  is  1 

But  when  God  gives  a  revelation  to  his  creatures, 
does  he  not  justly  require  their  faith  in  the  whole  of  it  ? 
He  justly  requires  them  to  believe  that  the  whole  of  it 
is  true  ;  and  this  is  the  faith  of  every  honest  Christian : 
he  believes  the  revelation  of  his  God  contains  truth  and 
nothing  else ;  and  he  embraces  all  the  particulars  in 
detail,  so  far  as  a  persevering  and  candid  attention  ena- 
bles him  to  apprehend  them.  It  is  the  duty  of  every 
man  to  exercise  his  mental  faculties  in  this  way ;  and 
to  say  any  one  who  does  so  is  exposed  to  future  wrath 
for  his  errors,  is  manifestly  to  suppose  him  chargeable 
with  guilt  for  a  right  exercise  of  his  mental  faculties, 
or  otherwise  for  not  exercising  faculties  which  he  never 
had. 

But  it  may  be  said  that  his  guilt  results  from  his 
neglect  to  come  to  an  infallible  tribunal,  to  be  informed 
what  is  truth.  And  can  any  man  or  any  tribunal  be 
found  on  earth,  that  is  more  infallible  than  God  ?     If 


CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.      213 

God,  who  is  infallible,  has  told  us  what  is  truth,  can  any 
human  tribunal  tell  it  in  better  language  ?  If  we  have 
mistaken  His  meaning,  will  we  not  be  as  likely  to  mis- 
take theirs  also  1  or  can  they  strengthen  our  faculties 
and  enlighten  the  eyes  of  our  understanding,  better  than 
the  Almighty  can  do  it  ?  If  they  are  to  think  and  be- 
lieve for  us,  will  it  not  follow  that  they  must  stand  in 
our  place,  and  be  justified  or  condemned  for  us  in  the 
day  of  judgment  1 

These  men  are  remarkable  for  urging  the  obligation 
to  believe  all  the  truths  of  revelation,  and  each  one  of 
them  in  particular.  And  why  1  For  the  very  interest- 
ing reason,  that  they  may  have  the  privilege  of  telling 
us  every  particular  item  that  we  are  to  believe.  They 
pretend  that  God  has  given  them  this  prerogative,  be- 
cause there  was  no  other  way  to  keep  us  sound  in  the 
faith.  Now  if  we  leave  God's  infallible  instructions,  to 
yield  ourselves  to  theirs,  it  must  be  for  one  or  more  of 
these  reasons :  either  1.  that  they  know  better  than  God; 
or  2.  that  they  can  speak  more  intelligibly  than  he ;  or 

3.  that  they  can  assist  our  understandings  better ;   or 

4.  that  they  have  more  authority  in  these  matters,  than 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

They  will  admit,  however,  that  all  truth  comes  from 
God ;  but  they  contend  that  he  has  appointed  that  it 
shall  all  come  through  their  hands,  and  through  no  other 
channel  whatsoever.  But  why  should  God  restrict  him- 
self in  this  manner  ?  Why  should  he  not  hold  the  reins 
in  his  own  hands,  and  reserve  to  himself  the  privilege 


214  CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

of  doing  what  he  will  with  his  own?     Is  thine  eye  evil 
because  he  is  good  1 

What  is  the  kind  of  unbelief  for  which  men  will  be 
condemned,  according  to  the  Scriptures?  It  is  the  fol- 
lowing. "  How  can  ye  believe,  which  receive  honour 
one  of  another,  and  seek  not  the  honour  that  cometh  from 
God  only  ?"  (John  v.  44.)  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the 
devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do.  He  was 
a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not  in  the 
truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  And  because  I 
tell  you  the  truth,  ye  believe  me  not."  (John  viii.  44.) 
"  If  I  had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which  none 
other  man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin :  but  now  have  they 
both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my  Father."  (John 
xv.  24.)  "  Behold,  ye  despisers,  and  wonder,  and  perish : 
for  I  work  a  work  in  your  day,  a  work  which  ye  shall 
in  no  wise  believe,  though  a  man  declare  it  unto  you." 
(Acts  xiii.  41.)  "  Because  they  receive  not  the  love 
of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  for  this 
cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  all 
might  be  damned  who  believed  not  the  truth,  but  had 
pleasure  in  unrighteousness."  (2  Thes.  ii.  10.)  "  Take 
heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart 

OF  UNBELIEF,  IN  DEPARTING  FROM  THE  LIVING  GoD."     (Heb. 

iii.  12.) 

Thirdly,  men  will  not  be  punished  in  a  future  state 
for  any  other  kind  or  number  of  sins,  than  such  as  are 
settled  into  a  character  of  malignant  hostility  against 
God,  and  which  the  sinner  carries  with  him  into  eter- 


CAUSES  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  215 

nity.  If  the  wicked  man  will  turn  from  his  evil  way, 
"  Our  God  will  abundantly  pardon,"  even  though  his 
sins  "  have  been  as  scarlet,  or  red  like  crimson."  It  is 
a  faithful  saying,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 
to  save  the  chief  of  sinners;  and  thousands,  such  as 
king  David  and  Saul  of  Tarsus,  will  never  be  punished 
in  the  future  world  for  any  of  their  transgressions.  Let 
it  be  particularly  noted  and  borne  in  mind,  therefore, 
that  no  man  will  be  damned  merely  for  having  been  a 
sinner ;  but  for  obstinately  finishing  his  life  in  a  state  of 
confirmed  enmity  against  God,  and  consequently  against 
society,  and  against  all  social  happiness.  None  are  sent 
to  hell  but  those  who  are  fit  for  nothing  else,  and  whose 
character  and  society  would  be  worse  than  a  nuisance 
in  any  other  region  of  the  universe. 

In  short,  there  are  no  other  causes  of  future  punish- 
ment, than  such  as  constitute  an  essentially  wicked  cha- 
racter. Ignorance  that  is  wilful,  error  imbibed  from  a 
corrupt  prejudice  against  the  truth,  and  disobedience 
that  is  obstinate,  impenitent  and  unyielding — these  are 
the  causes  of  Divine  wrath,  and  not  any  opinion  that  is 
honestly  entertained,  merely  because  it  may  be  branded 
as  heresy  by  the  sanctimonious  decrees  of  ecclesiastical 
power ;  nor  any  want  of  conformity  to  rites  and  cere- 
monies, and  other  sectarian  observances,  which  are  too 
often  fondly  added  to  the  essential  demands  of  gospel 
morality. 

The  apostle  Paul  says  a  heretic  is  one  that  is  sub- 
verted, and  sinneth,  being  condemned  of  himself.  (Tit. 


216     ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

iii.  10,  11.)  That  is,  a  man  who  uncandidly  does  vio- 
lence to  truth,  and  is  convicted  in  his  own  conscience 
that  he  is  guilty  of  a  dishonest  exercise  of  his  mental 
faculties.  In  the  dark  regions  of  infallibility,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  truth  has  been  branded  with  the  charge 
of  heresy,  oftener  than  error ;  but  in  a  future  state  all 
will  be  made  clear,  because  God  is  judge  himself,  and 
will  not  surrender  the  right  of  judgment,  or  the  destiny 
of  the  souls  that  he  has  made,  to  the  decision  of  eccle- 
siastical tribunals. 


SECTION  X. 

Ultimate  ends  of  future  punishment 

When  it  is  said  men  will  be  punished  for  their  evil 
deeds,  another  question  follows  :  namely,  why  must  men 
be  punished  for  doing  wrong  ?  A  process  so  fearfully 
solemn,  is  doubtless  based  upon  very  weighty  and  suffi- 
cient reasons.  If  it  be  said,  we  ought  not  to  inquire 
into  the  reasons  of  future  punishment,  then  it  will  follow, 
that  ice  ought  to  be  ignorant  of  that  which  has  a  direct 
relation  to  the  character  of  God,  and  which  involves 
the  essential  interests  of  his  whole  intelligent  creation. 
It  supposes  that  our  Maker's  judicial  actions  cannot 
bear  examination,  and  that  his  glory  can  be  sustained 
and  vindicated  in  no  other  way  than  by  keeping  the 
principles  of  his  government  in  the  dark.     It  may  be 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.      217 

thought,  perhaps,  that  we  ought  so  to  revere  his  Divine 
Majesty,  as  to  admit  that  he  has  perfect  authority  to 
punish  his  creatures  for  any  secret  reasons  he  may 
adopt,  or  for  no  reason  whatever,  except  the  pleasure 
of  his  own  will ;  but  this  seems  to  imply  an  obligation 
on  our  part,  to  acknowledge  that  he  is  too  great  to  be 
good,  and  his  authority  too  high  to  be  just  and  right. 
Is  there  any  Majesty  above  Goodness  ?  Is  there  any 
authority  above  justice  ?  We  confidently  appeal  to  the 
whole  Bible,  that  the  uniform  demand  of  God  upon 
mankind,  is  to  believe  that  he  is  just,  and  not  that  he  is 
above  justice — that  he  is  good,  and  not  that  his  majesty 
soars  above  goodness. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  Almighty  may  have 
reasons  for  many  acts  of  his  providence  that  are  far 
beyond  our  comprehension ;  but  so  far  as  he  has  given 
us  the  means  of  knowledge,  it  is  our  duty  to  use  them, 
in  order  to  acquire  as  adequate  views  of  his  divine 
government  as  we  can;  and  the  fear  of  being  wise 
above  what  is  written,  should  not  influence  us  to  neg- 
lect to  examine  carefully  the  import  of  what  is  written, 
by  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual,  and  draw- 
ing conclusions  from  premises  furnished  in  the  book  of 
Divine  revelation. 

Axiom. 

"  Say  unto  them,  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but  that 
the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live."  (Ezek. 
xxxiii.  11.) 

19  K 


218   ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

Hence  we  conclude,  that  to  afford  pleasure  to  the 
mind  of  the  Almighty,  is  not  an  ultimate  end  of  future 
punishment. 

Nor  is  it  to  afford  pleasure  to  the  minds  of  his  children 
in  heaven;  for  they  being  partakers  of  the  divine  nature, 
have  consequently  no  more  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked,  than  God  himself  has. 

Whence  it  follows,  that,  on  some  ground  or  other, 
the  punishment  of  the  wicked  is  morally  necessary,  and 
if  this  necessity  for  the  measure  did  not  exist,  such  pun- 
ishment would  not  be  inflicted  upon  them. 

For  any  intelligent  mind  to  be  gratified,  or  to  have 
pleasure,  in  seeing  another  in  misery,  or  inflicting  it  on 
him,  when  there  is  no  necessity  for  it,  is  what  we  call 
cruelty,  tyranny,  despotism.  It  is  probably  the  very 
worst  trait  there  is  in  the  character  of  the  devil. 

For  any  person  to  have  pleasure  in  the  misery  of 
another,  because  the  other  has  injured  him,  when  there 
is  no  other  necessity  for  punishment,  than  merely  to 
afford  pleasure  to  the  mind  of  the  injured  person,  is  the 
spirit  of  revenge  or  retaliation.  This  disposition  is  not 
in  God,  nor  in  any  one  of  his  children  on  earth  or  in 
heaven. 

God  himself  "  delighteth  in  mercy."  He  is  "  abund- 
ant in  goodness  and  truth,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgres- 
sion and  sin."  "  As  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth, 
so  great  is  his  mercy  towards  them  that  fear  him."  The 
Son  of  God,  when  suffering  under  the  most  enormous 
wrongs  that  were  ever  perpetrated  under  heaven,  said. 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.      219 

"  Father  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do ;"  and  to  all  his  disciples  he  had  previously  said, 
"  Be  ye  merciful,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  hea- 
ven is  merciful."  The  disposition  of  revenge,  therefore, 
has  no  place  in  heaven,  nor  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
are  on  their  way  to  heaven. 

The  end  of  punishment  must  consequently  be  one  or 
more  of  the  following  reasons,  or  all  of  them  together : 
either  1. to  guard  and  protect  happiness;  or  2.  to  dimin- 
ish misery ;  or  3.  to  prevent  a  greater  evil,  or  to  keep 
misery  from  being  augmented. 

Its  tendency  to  guard  happiness  is  two-fold :  first,  to 
put  it  out  of  the  power  of  evil  beings  to  disturb  the 
felicity  of  the  upright ;  and  secondly,  to  influence  the 
latter  to  avoid  such  courses  as  would  involve  themselves 
in  misery. 

All  experience  shows  that  wicked  beings  seek  their 
gratification  in  doing  mischief;  that  is,  in  pursuing  a 
course  of  action  which  will  destroy  the  happiness  of 
others.  When  they  are  arrested  by  the  hand  of  justice, 
and  deprived  of  their  liberty,  this  is  to  take  away  their 
power  of  doing  harm,  in  order  to  protect  the  happiness 
of  those  whose  rights  and  enjoyments  they  would  other- 
wise violate  and  destroy.  Are  not  divine  penalties  in- 
flicted for  the  same  purpose  1 

The  apostle  John,  in  describing  a  monster  of  wicked- 
ness, says,  "  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus : 
and  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of 


220     ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

saints,  and  of  all  that  were  slain  upon  the  earth."  (Rev. 
xvii.  6 — xviii.  24.)  In  verse  20th  it  is  said,  "Rejoice 
over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and  pro- 
phets; for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her."  Accord- 
ingly, as  we  are  informed  in  the  next  chapter,  "  After 
these  things  I  heard  a  great  voice  of  much  people  in 
heaven,  saying,  Alleluia ;  salvation,  and  glory,  and  ho- 
nour, and  power,  unto  the  Lord  our  God ;  for  true  and 
righteous  are  his  judgments :  for  he  hath  judged  the 
great  whore,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  with  her  for- 
nication, and  hath  avenged  the  blood  of  his  servants  at 
her  hand.  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying, 
Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear 
him,  both  small  and  great.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the 
voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying, 
Alleluia  ;  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth." 

Here  all  heaven  appears  in  exultation,  because  the 
high  administration  of  Almighty  God  is  able  to  protect 
them  from  those  malignant  beings,  whose  ravages,  if 
unrestrained,  would  seriously  interrupt  if  not  utterly 
destroy  the  happiness  of  all  created  intelligences. 

To  suppose  holy  angels  and  saints  triumphing  in  this 
manner,  on  account  of  the  pleasure  it  gave  them  to  see 
their  fellow-creatures  in  torment,  would  be,  if  I  mistake 
not,  to  reproach  and  to  slander  all  heaven.  Their  joy 
arose,  not  from  the  misery  of  others,  but  from  the  pros- 
pect of  their  own  security ;  and  could  their  felicity  be 
equally  secure  in  a  way  that  would  not  bring  misery  to 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHxMENT.     221 

others,  this  would  unquestionably  be  an  enlargement  of 
their  joy. 

When  wicked  men  are  taken  out  of  the  world  by 
death,  "  they  have  no  more  that  they  can  do,"  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth ;  and  when  the  power  of 
God  excludes  them  from  heaven,  and  from  all  other 
society  than  their  own,  the  gratification  which  they 
had,  and  would  still  have,  in  doing  mischief,  is  at  an 
end ;  their  heaven  is  gone ;  and  their  thoughts  being 
turned  in  upon  themselves,  are  left  to  feel  the  enormous 
weight  of  their  own  evil  character. 

The  influence  which  the  spectacle  of  future  punish- 
ment may  have,  as  a  warning  to  surrounding  worlds, 
to  guard  them  against  rebellion,  and  against  consequent 
misery,  may  also  be  a  matter  of  immense  importance 
in  an  empire  so  extensive  as  that  of  The  high  and  lofty 
One  that  inhabiteth  eternity.  Hell  appears  to  have  been 
prepared  and  intended  as  the  great  Penitentiary  of  the 
Universe.  Judicial  punishments,  under  every  righteous 
government,  upon  earth,  are  intended  to  protect  socie- 
ty ;  and  shall  we  dispense  with  all  such  analogies,  in 
our  conclusions  respecting  the  Divine  administration, 
and  insist  that  our  Maker  inflicts  penalties  on  his  crea- 
tures for  no  end  at  all,  or  for  such  ends  as  he  keeps  a 
profound  secret  from  the  whole  intelligent  creation? 
Such  an  assumption  contradicts  all  analogy,  is  incon- 
sistent with  reason,  and  is  unsupported  by  divine  revela- 
tion. 

How  far  the  divine  penalties  will  operate,  through  the 
19* 


222      ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

depths  of  eternity,  to  diminish  existing  misery,  or  to 
prevent  its  augmentation,  we  are  not  competent  to  de- 
termine. Dr.  D wight  says,  "At  the  final  Judgment,  the 
whole  state  of  mankind  will  be  settled  agreeably  to  the 
most  consummate  benevolence.  In  this  great  transac- 
tion, and  in  its  consequences,  the  mystery  of  the  present 
world  loill  be  finished ;  the  dispensations  of  God,  both 
to  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  exhibited  as  perfectly 
in  accordance  with  infinite  benevolence ;  and  the  diffi- 
culties, which  to  the  eye  of  reason  attend  them  here, 
explained  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  stop  every  mouth,  and 
remove  every  objection."    (Theology,  Vol.  I.  p.  185.) 

Thus  the  "infinite  benevolence"  of  God  is  represented 
as  operating  in  his  dispensations,  "  both  to  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked."  But  is  not  this  a  new  doctrine  ?  It 
is  as  old  as  the  apostle  John :  for  if,  as  he  affirms,  God 
is  love,  what  can  be  the  action  of  such  a  Being,  other 
than  such  as  shall  proceed  from  the  principle  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Dwight?  If  indeed  God  were  half  love  and 
half  hatred,  we  must  adopt  a  different  conclusion ;  but 
if  perfect  love  always  acts  consistently  with  itself,  then 
its  every  action  must  of  consequence  be  the  action  of 
benevolence. 

But  does  not  this  suppose  that  God  will  exercise  be- 
nevolence towards  the  damned  ?  He  is  certainly  dis- 
posed to  favour  them  as  much  as  he  can  without  injury 
to  others.  Will  any  man  have  the  assurance  to  say, 
that  the  Divine  action  towards  them  will  proceed  from 
the  principle  of  malignity?     We   are  aware   of  the 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  223 

answer,  that  future  punishment  will  be  the  act  of  Divine 
justice.  True ;  for  justice  is  one  essential  part  of 
God's  eternal  character  of  love.  Justice  secures  to 
every  one  that  which  is  right;  and  consequently,  it 
secures  to  every  criminal  an  exemption  from  all  degrees 
of  punishment  that  would  be  wrong.  If  God  will  carry 
on  an  administration  of  justice  over  hell,  it  is  because 
hell  is  under  his  government,  as  well  as  heaven ;  and 
consequently  its  destinies  are  regulated  by  the  same 
principles.  Is  he  just  in  one  part  of  his  dominions,  and 
unjust  in  another  1  Has  he  good-will  towards  a  part  of 
his  creatures,  and  ill-will  towards  another  part  1 

Heavenly  happiness,  indeed,  is  a  bounty ;  but  it  is 
bestowed  on  those  for  whom  it  is  prepared,  because 
such  a  gratuity  is  right : — that  is,  just.  Why  are  not 
the  same  favours  bestowed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  hell? 
Not  because  their  Maker  has  any  ill-will  towards  them  ; 
but  because,  from  their  moral  relation  to  God  and  to 
society,  such  a  procedure  would  not  be  right: — that 
is,  would  not  be  just. 

The  plain  argument  which  deserves  our  serious  atten- 
tion is  this :  The  inhabitants  of  hell  are  under  the  go- 
vernment of  God;  the  government  of  God  is  a  just 
government;  therefore  every  thing  will  be  done  for 
them  that  justice  can  do.  Or  should  we  vary  the 
phraseology,  and  say  the  Divine  government  is  benevo- 
lent ;  therefore  every  thing  will  be  done  for  them  that 
benevolence  can  do,  the  conclusion  would  be  the  same  i 
for  benevolence  never  did  or  can  do  any  thing  that 


224     ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

would  not  be  just;  and  justice  never  did  or  can  do  any 
thing  that  would  be  inconsistent  with  benevolence. 

Will  not  the  holy  angels  rejoice  over  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  wicked,  because  they  deserve  the  punishment 
which  they  endure?  They  undoubtedly  will.  Why 
then  do  Lhey  rejoice  that  thousands  and  millions  of  the 
human  race  have  escaped  that  punishment,  who  also 
deserved  it?  Because  these  consented  to  the  plan 
through  which  the  hand  of  mercy  could  save  them, 
consistently  with  justice ;  whereas  those  in  hell  refused 
to  be  thus  saved;  their  punishment  is  therefore  de- 
manded by  the  rights  and  the  common  welfare  of 
society ;  hence  justice  and  benevolence  perfectly  har- 
monize in  their  condemnation. 

It  appears  to  have  been  assumed  as  an  axiom,  that 
an  ultimate  end  with  the  Almighty,  perhaps  the  only 
one,  in  punishing  the  reprobate,  is  "  his  own  glory." 
What  is  glory,  but  the  dignity  and  loveliness  of  an 
honourable  character?  Would  God  be  honoured  in  the 
estimation  of  his  creatures,  for  punishing  vast  multi- 
tudes of  them  for  no  reason,  or  for  reasons  kept  a  pro- 
found secret  with  himself?  Let  the  universe  clearly 
understand,  that  he  inflicts  punishment  only  to  protect 
happiness,  and  to  prevent  the  increase  and  the  spread 
of  misery,  and  it  will  be  easy  to  perceive  that  he  hereby 
manifests  his  own  glory ;  but  to  suppose  him  honoured 
by  inflicting  punishments  without  regard  to  such  ends, 
appears  to  involve  the  inevitable  conclusion,  that  a  good 
ruler  and  a  tyrant  have  precisely  the  same  kind  of 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.     225 

glory  ;  whereas  the  one  is  the  glory  of  goodness,  and 
the  other,  the  glory  of  sovereign  despotism.  Query — 
which  most  evinces  the  glory  of  a  sovereign,  to  claim 
the  authority  to  do  right — or  the  power  to  do  wrong — or 
the  prerogative  of  acting  independently  of  right  and 
ivrong  ? 

We  say  God  can  do  no  wrong ;  but  this  saying,  ac- 
cording to  scripture  and  reason,  means  precisely  that 
from  the  perfection  of  his  nature  he  always  will  do 
right.  The  claim  of  having  authority  to  do  wTong,  or 
of  being  above  right,  comprehends  the  emphatical  defi- 
nition of  a  tyrant.  To  suppose  our  Maker  to  put  in 
such  a  claim,  "  for  his  own  glory,"  is  to  do  violence  to 
reason,  to  conscience,  and  to  divine  ■  revelation  ;  and 
may  well  remind  us  of  the  sublime  language  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ :  "  O  righteous  Father,  the  world 
hath  not  known  thee."  It  is  a  delightful  consideration, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  are  better  informed. 
They  know  that  to  impute  to  the  great  and  righteous 
Sovereign  of  nature  a  kind  of  "  glory"  that  has  so  long 
been  exemplified  in  "  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,"  would  be  greatly  to  degrade  his  eternal  Majes- 
ty. Those  triumphant  sons  of  God  unceasingly  rejoice 
in  the  mild  and  splendid  glory  of  a  Being  who  is  glori- 
ous in  holiness ; — glorious  in  goodness,  truth  and  justice; 
— glorious  in  exercising  judgment,  righteousness,  and 
loving  kindness  through  earth  and  heaven ;  "  for  in  these 
things  I  delight,  saith  the  Lord."    (Jer.  ix.  24.) 

It  may  be  objected,  perhaps,  that  Dr.  Dwight  did  not 


226      ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

mean  to  be  understood,  that  God  would  exercise  bene- 
volence in  his  administration  over  hell ;  or  if  he  did,  his 
authority  ought  to  have  no  weight.  Let  his  authority 
be  sustained,  then,  by  that  of  Dr.  Adam  Clarke.  "  The 
will  of  God,"  he  says,  "  is  ever  influenced  by  his  good- 
ness ;  therefore  he  can  never  make  a  bad  or  improper 
choice,  nor  determine  any  thing  that  is  not  good  in 
itself,  and  good  or  proper  to  all  those  who  may  be  the 
objects  of  its  operation.  As  God's  nature  is  good,  so  his 
will  or  desire  must  be  good, — good  in  itself,  and  good  to 
all  those  whom  it  affects :  hence  he  must  be  good  in  all 
his  actions,  and  good  to  all  his  creatures,  in  all  his  de- 
terminations and  providential  dispensations  towards 
them"    (Sermon  on  the  Being  and  Attributes  of  God.) 

Now  when  Dr.  Clarke  says  every  action  of  God  is 
cood  in  itself,  and  good  to  all  those  who  may  be  the 
oujects  of  its  operation,  he  evidently  means  that  it  is 
good  in  principle,  aifd  in  its  universal  tendency.  When 
God  punishes  evil  beings,  it  is  to  maintain  the  good 
which  they  would  otherwise  destroy.  The  principle 
of  this  procedure  is  opposition  to  evil;  and  that  which 
opposes  evil,  is  good — that  which  opposes  unrighteousness, 
is  right.  All  just  punishment  tends  to  discourage  evil; 
and  therefore  it  is  good  in  its  universal  tendency ;  other- 
wise we  say  good  and  evil  are  not  in  tendency  opposed 
to  each  other. 

All  penalties  inflicted  by  the  Supreme  Being  are  the 
punishments  of  justice,  which  is  the  principle  that  pro- 
tects and   maintains   universal   right:  but  to  maintain 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.     227 

universal  right  is  to  maintain  the  system  of  universal 
happiness,  otherwise  we  say  right  does  not  support  hap- 
piness; consequently,  justice  is  an  essential  operation 
of  benevolence,  and  must  therefore  be  a  good  thing,  both 
in  principle  and  in  tendency. 

But  does  that  punishment  which  is  inflicted  by  the 
attribute  of  justice,  tend  to  discourage  evil  in  the  beings 
who  are  the  subjects  of  the  punishment  1  It  certainly 
tends  to  produce  in  them  a  conviction  of  the  evil  of 
which  they  have  been  guilty ;  for  if  it  be  a  penalty  of 
justice,  the  precise  ground  of  it  is  the  evil  of  their  cha- 
racter ;  and  every  stroke  of  the  rod  speaks  in  powerful 
language,  that  it  is  solely  because  they  are  bad  beings, 
that  a  good  Being  thus  deals  with  them.  Is  not  this  the 
exact  truth  of  their  situation  1  And  is  God  unwilling 
that  they  should  know  and  believe  the  truth  ?  Is  he  not 
willing  that  they  should  acknowledge  the  justice  of  his 
conduct  towards  them  1  or  does  he  really  wish  them  to 
slander  his  character  with  the  charge  of  eternal  tyranny, 
contrary  to  all  truth  and  justice,  in  order  that  this  false- 
hood may  keep  them  in  a  state  of  unceasing  rage  and 
malignity  against  him  1  Certainly  this  cannot  be.  If 
the  wicked  in  hell  blaspheme  God  on  account  of  his 
penalties,  the  whole  of  their  rage  against  him  is  against 
justice,  and  truth,  and  love.  The  whole  effort  and  con- 
flict of  their  wicked  agency,  is  in  defence  of  injustice, 
falsehood,  and  malevolence ;  that  is,  to  vindicate  them- 
selves, and  to  cast  the  whole  blame  of  their  condemna- 
tion and  misery  upon  God.     This  disposition  constitutes 


228  ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

the  very  essence  of  their  wickedness ;  and  if  God  pun- 
ishes them  because  of  this  disposition,  the  whole  opera- 
tion says  undeniably,  that  it  is  not  his  will  that  they 
should  be  wicked ;  for  if  it  were  his  will,  he  would  not 
punish  them  for  it.  His  penalties  speak  to  the  centre 
of  their  souls,  that  their  character  is  utterly  wrong,  and 
that  God  is  right,  in  the  whole  of  his  proceedings  against 
them.  Is  not  this  calculated  to  convince  them  of  the 
depth  and  inexcusable  nature  of  the  evil  that  is  within 
them  ?  and  has  not  that  which  convinces  men  of  evil,  a 
tendency  to  discourage  and  weaken  the  evil,  and  con- 
sequently to  promote  the  opposite  good  ?  Is  it  not  a 
good  principle  in  any  agent,  to  weaken  the  power  of 
evil  as  much  as  he  can,  and  to  cause  his  whole  course 
of  action  to  have  a  tendency  to  encourage  righteousness 
and  goodness  in  all  minds  that  are  capable  of  distin- 
guishing right  from  wrong  ?  No  man,  it  is  presumed, 
will  venture  to  answer  these  questions  in  the  negative  ; 
and  if  the  affirmative  be  true,  the  clear  consequence  is, 
that  the  best  Being  in  existence  is  more  disposed  than 
any  other,  to  cause  all  his  operations  to  have  a  tendency 
to  discourage  and  weaken  the  power  of  evil,  and  to 
promote  every  thing  that  is  right  and  good,  without 
limitation  or  restriction. 

A  hasty  alarm  will  probably  here  be  taken,  lest  if  we 
follow  on  in  this  course  of  reasoning,  it  will  lead  us  into 
conclusions  which  will  encourage  men  in  sin,  and  mili- 
tate against  the  interests  of  virtue  and  religion ;  but  as 
good  produces  only  good,  and  evil  only  evil,  I  hold  that 


ULTIMATE  ENDS  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.     229 

no  truth,  correctly  understood,  will  ever  have  a  bad 
influence  upon  any  human  soul ;  and  it  is  hoped  if  the 
reader  will  have  patience  to  proceed  to  the  end  of  this 
volume,  he  will  find  all  the  objections  met  and  obviated, 
which  he  is  beginning  to  anticipate ;  and  that  it  is  not  a 
true  but  a  false  view  of  the  divine  character,  which  has 
an  injurious  tendency  upon  the  morals  of  mankind. 

It  is  truth  which  invariably  supports  virtue  and  holi- 
ness ;  and  error  is  as  far  from  being  salutary,  on  one 
side  of  the  line  of  correctness,  as  on  the  other.  To 
represent  future  punishment  to  be  less  than  the  reality, 
and  to  represent  it  to  be  more  than  the  reality,  are  both 
alike  a  departure  from  the  truth ;  and  consequently,  being 
both  errors,  they  will  have  none  other  than  the  influence 
of  error,  upon  the  hearts  and  actions  of  mankind.  A 
falsehood,  on  the  side  of  vengeance,  may  be  as  injurious 
in  its  practical  influence,  as  on  the  side  of  lenity;  and 
for  theological  writers  to  assume,  that  in  regard  to  the 
magnitude  of  penal  sufferings  there  is  no  possibility  of 
running  into  an  extreme,  or  that  every  error,  on  this 
side  of  the  question,  will  of  course  be  salutary  in  its 
moral  operation,  is  gratuitously  to  take  for  granted  that 
which  has  no  countenance  whatever  from  Divine  Reve- 
lation, and  which  involves  the  egregious  absurdity,  that 
error,  when  advanced  in  support  of  hell-torments,  has 
a  better  effect  upon  the  souls  of  men  than  truth  and 
righteousness. 
20 


SECTION  XI. 
Severity  of  Future  Punishment — Its  Eternity. 

If  it  be  true,  as  Dr.  Dwight  says,  that  "At  the  final 
Judgment  the  dispensations  of  God,  both  to  the  righte- 
ous and  the  wicked,  will  be  exhibited  as  perfectly  ac- 
cordant with  infinite  benevolence" — does  it  not  follow, 
that  it  will  be  an  advantage  to  all  creatures  to  be  under 
the  government  of  their  Creator?  Suppose  any  of 
them  were  under  the  control  and  operation  of  infinite 
malevolence— -would  not  that  be  worse  for  them  ?  Or 
shall  we  conclude  that  love  is  as  much  disposed  to  pro- 
duce misery,  as  malice  itself  can  be  ? 

We  rejoice  to  admit,  however,  that  infinite  malevo- 
lence is  impossible;  because  it  is  impossible  for  a  being 
to  exist,  with  the  power  to  exercise  it.  But  in  case  the 
Divine  Being  should  abandon  sinners  and  do  nothing 
with  them,  further  than  to  separate  them  from  his  do- 
minions, and  leave  them  to  the  eternal  anarchy  of  their 
own  malignant  dispositions — wTould  such  an  eternity,  or 
would  it  not,  be  worse  for  them,  than  to  be  under  the 
control  of  their  Creator's  government  1 

It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  such  a  question  is  more 
curious  than  useful.  We  need  feel  no  reluctance  in  ad- 
mitting, that  it  is  improper  for  us  to  pry  into  the  secrets 
of  eternity,  further  than  we  are   authorized  by  divine 

(230) 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  231 

revelation ;  but  so  far  as  that  will  illuminate  our  foot- 
steps, so  far  we  may,  without  hazard,  advance. 

The  state  of  future  punishment  has  often  been  repre- 
sented as  an  indiscriminate  crowding;  of  all  the  con- 


'o 


demned  together  in  one  common  fire ; — that  after  ages 
of  burning  torture,  they  are  hurried  away  and  frozen 
fast  in  dreadful  regions  of  ice ; — that  after  groaning  for 
ages  in  that  frozen  climate,  they  are  hurried  back  again 
into  fire ; — that  their  eyes,  ears,  and  nostrils  are  used  as 
mediums  of  the  greatest  possible  misery ;  and,  finally, 
that  each  individual  in  hell  suffers  an  amount  of  agony 
that  would  be  sufficient  in  a  very  short  time  to  kill  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  by  the  mere  force  of  the 
pain  endured.  Such,  and  more,  are  the  representations 
which  have  been  given  of  this  subject,  as  the  writer  has 
heard  and  seen,  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press.  The  de- 
sign of  them,  commonly,  is  to  deter  men  from  sin,  that 
they  may  not  go  to  hell.  It  must  indeed  be  acknow- 
ledged, that  the  unaccountable  stupidity  and  obstinacy 
of  mankind  in  sin,  appear  to  call  for  warnings  of  the 
most  arousing  tendency ;  but  these  matters  may  be  car- 
ried to  an  extreme,  so  as  to  produce  results  entirely  op- 
posite to  those  which  were  intended.  Do  wTe  deplore 
the  progress  of  Universalism  ?  It  would  then  be  well 
to  reflect  upon  the  strong  probability  that  hundreds  of 
Universalists  have  been  made,  and  hundreds  of  Deists 
also,  by  such  horrible  representations  of  future  punish- 
ment, as  caused  them  to  receive  the  impression  that  the 
Christian  religion  represents  the  God  of  nature  as  an 


232  SEVERITY    OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

Almighty  tyrant  Will  the  souls  of  these  men  escape 
hell,  and  be  brought  to  heaven,  by  being  driven  into  in- 
fidelity ?  If  not,  let  our  concern  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners  lead  us  to  consider,  whether  such  representa- 
tion of  future  punishment  as  can  be  clearly  sustained 
by  justice  and  benevolence  will  not  have  a  more  salu- 
tary influence  upon  mankind,  than  such  as  would  seem 
to  shroud  the  divine  government  in  the  darkness  of  an 
infinite  tyranny. 

On  this  subject  especially,  we  should  search  the  Scrip- 
tures with  great  care ;  and  should  not  be  too  hasty  in 
drawing  conclusions  from  certain  parts,  containing 
highly  figurative  language,  without  comparing  spiritual 
things  with  spiritual,  and  so  explaining  those  figures,  as 
will  correspond  with  the  great  principles  so  abund- 
antly established  in  the  Bible,  as  the  basis  of  our  Crea- 
tor's judicial  procedure. 

That  God  will  make  use  of  fire,  as  an  instrument  of 
punishment  in  the  future  world,  as  well  as  in  the  present 
world,  we  have  no  authority  to  dispute ;  but  we  have  a 
right  to  reject  any  representation  of  the  matter  that 
would  contradict  the  principles  which  God  has  exhibited 
as  the  rules  of  his  administration : — namely,  that  he  will 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness;  —  that  he  will  treat 
everyone  according  to  his  works; — that  it  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  some,  than  for  others,  in  the  day 
of  judgment; — and  that  some  shall  be  beaten  with  few 
stripes,  while  others  shall  be  beaten  with  many.  How 
is  it  possible  for  common  sense  to  apprehend  these  dis- 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  233 

tinctions  among  a  crowd  of  wretches  rolling  promiscu- 
ously together  in  one  common  fire  ] 

The  threatenings  which  relate  to  a  future  world  may 
be  composed  of  figurative  language,  as  wTell  as  those 
which  were  used  concerning  "  The  day  of  the  Lord's 
vengeance,  for  the  controversy  of  Zion.  And  the  streams 
thereof  shall  be  turned  into  pitch,  and  the  dust  thereof 
into  brimstone,  and  the  land  thereof  shall  become  burn- 
ing pitch.  It  shall  not  be  quenched  night  nor  day ;  the 
smoke  thereof  shall  go  up  for  ever :  from  generation  to 
generation  it  shall  lie  waste ;  none  shall  pass  through  it 
for  ever  and  ever :  the  cormorant  and  the  bittern  shall 
possess  it ;  the  owl  also  and  the  raven  shall  dwell  in  it." 
(Isa.  xxxiv.  8,  &c.)  Again :  "  For,  behold,  the  Lord 
will  come  with  fire,  and  with  his  chariots  like  a  whirl- 
wind, to  render  his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  with 
flames  of  fire.  For  by  fire  and  by  his  sword  will  the 
Lord  plead  with  all  flesh :  and  the  slain  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  many.  And  they  shall  go  forth,  and  look  upon 
the  carcases  of  the  men  that  have  transgressed  against 
me  ;  for  their  worm  shall  not  die,  neither  shall  their  fire 
be  quenched;  and  they  shall  be  an  abhorring  unto  all 
flesh."     (Isa.  lxvi.  15,  16—24.) 

Our  Saviour  uses  similar  language,  when  speaking 
of  future  punishment :  "  Where  their  worm  dieth  not, 
and  the  fire  is  not  quenched."  The  word  icorm,  here, 
is  commonly  referred  to  the  conscience,  and  the  word 
fire  taken  literally ;  but  by  what  rule  of  interpretation 
is  one  figurative  word  in  the  same  sentence  taken  lite- 
20*  k* 


234  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

rally,  and  the  other  figuratively?  If  one  is  material 
fire,  why  is  not  the  other  a  material  worm,  so  fastened 
to  the  rlesh  of  the  culprit,  that  it  dieth  not  ?  The  apos- 
tle James  says,  "  The  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world  of  ini- 
quity :  it  defileth  the  whole  body,  and  setteth  on  fire  the 
course  of  nature ;  and  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell"  (James 
iii.  6.)  So  that  hell-fire,  we  see,  is  not  confined  to  ma- 
terial substances,  but  may  signify  the  raging  force  arid 
malignity  of  evil  passions. 

We  will  notice  a  few  other  figurative  passages. 
"  Therefore  shall  the  Lord  send  among  his  fat  ones 
leanness  ;  and  under  his  glory  he  shall  kindle  a  burning 
like  the  burning  of  a  fire.  And  the  light  of  Israel  shall 
be  for  a  fire,  and  his  Holy  One  for  a  flame  :  and  it 
shall  burn  and  devour  his  thorns  and  his  briars  in  one 
day."  (Isa.  x.  16,  17.)  "  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord 
God,  behold,  mine  anger  and  my  fury  shall  be  poured 
out  upon  this  place,  upon  man,  and  upon  beast,  and  upon 
the  trees  of  the  field,  and  upon  the  fruit  of  the  ground ; 
and  it  shall  burn,  and  shall  not  be  quenched"  (Jer.  vii. 
20.)  "  For  a  fire  is  kindled  in  mine  anger,  and  shall 
burn  unto  the  lowest  hell,  and  shall  consume  the  earth 
with  her  increase,  and  set  on  fire  the  foundation  of  the 
mountains"  (Deut.  xxxii.  22.)  "I  will  cause  thee  to 
serve  thine  enemies  in  a  land  which  thou  knowest  not : 
for  ye  have  kindled  a  fire  in  mine  anger,  which  shall 
burn  for  ever"  (Jer.  xvii.  4.)  "  These  shall  hate  the 
whore,  and  shall  make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and 
shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire"  (Rev.  xvii.  16.) 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  235 

The  place  of  future  punishment  is  called  a  lake  of 
fire,  a  bottomless  pit,  and  a  furnace  of  -fire.  That  these 
are  warnings  of  a  very  awful  punishment,  cannot  be 
doubted ;  and  it  is  because  the  odious  abominations  of 
mankind  make  such  warnings  and  such  punishments 
necessary ;  but  that  representations  of  this  kind  are 
given  figuratively,  may  appear  from  the  following  pas- 
sages. "  As  for  those  that  compass  me  about,  let  the 
mischief  of  their  own  lips  cover  them.  Let  burning 
coals  fall  upon  them  :  let  them  be  cast  into  the  fire ;  into 
deep  pits,  that  they  rise  not  up  again."  (Psalm  cxl.  9, 
10.)  "  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit,  out 
of  the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock."  (Psalm 
xl.  2.)  "  Tophet  is  ordained  of  old ;  yea,  for  the  king 
it  is  prepared  :  he  hath  made  it  deep  and  large ;  the  pile 
thereof  is  fire  and  much  wood :  the  breath  of  the  Lord, 
like  a  stream  of  brimstone,  doth  kindle  it."  (Isa.  xxx. 
33.)  "  The  Lord  hath  taken  you,  and  brought  you  forth 
out  of  the  iron  furnace,  even  out  of  Egypt,  to  be  unto 
him  a  people."  (Deut.  iv.  20.)  "  Behold,  I  have  refined 
thee,  but  not  with  silver ;  I  have  chosen  thee  in  the  fur- 
nace of  affliction."  (Isa.  xlviii.  10.)  "Then  shall  the 
Assyrian  fall  with  the  sword,  and  he  shall  pass  over  to 
his  strong  hold  for  fear,  and  his  princes  shall  be  afraid 
of  the  ensign,  saith  the  Lord,  whose  fire  is  in  Zionr, 
and  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem."  (Isa.  xxxi.  9.)  "  And 
the  fifth  angel  sounded,  and  I  saw  a  star  fall  from  hea- 
ven unto  the  earth :  and  to  him  was  given  the  key  of 
the  bottomless  pit.     And  he  opened  the  bottomless  pit ; 


236  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

and  there  arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit,  as  the  smoke  of 
a  great  furnace ;  and  the  sun  and  the  air  were  dark- 
ened by  reason  of  the  smoke  of  the  pit."  (Rev.  ix.  1,  2.) 

Such  figurative  representations  are  very  striking,  and 
doubtless  refer  to  matters  of  great  weight  and  solem- 
nity ;  but  when  men  found  a  doctrine  upon  them,  to 
reach  through  eternity,  they  wo*uld  do  well  to  be  care- 
ful lest  they  forget  their  own  precautions,  and  become 
toise  above  that  which  is  written. 

When  we  consider  the  enormity  of  human  wicked- 
ness— that  thousands  fill  up  a  long  life  in  establishing 
and  augmenting  in  themselves  a  horrible  spirit  of  malig- 
nity against  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped 
— against  all  holiness  and  heavenly  happiness — it  can- 
not be  doubted,  that  they  will  find  it  "  a  fearful  thing  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God."  It  will  be  indig- 
nation and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every 
soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil.  (Rom.  ii.  8,  9.)  This 
wrath  will  operate,  in  producing  anguish,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  fuel  of  malignity  found  in  each  individual 
soul. 

In  regard  to  the  eternity  of  future  punishment,  a  can- 
did examination  of  the  Scriptures  will  fairly  and  fully 
conduct  us  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  separation  which 
is  to  take  place  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked, 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  is  intended  to  be  an  eternal 
separation.  The  enjoyments  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  the  privilege  of  being  sons  of  God,  and  joint  heirs 
with  Christ,  are  promised  to  none  except  to  those  who 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  237 

embrace  the  gracious  overture  during  their  probationary- 
existence  on  earth. 

But  that  the  state  of  the  damned  will  remain  uniform, 
without  any  modifications  of  their  condition,  through 
the  depths  of  eternal  duration,  is  a  matter  that  no  man 
is  able  to  prove.  The  reasons  for  the  severity  of  their 
punishment,  are  found  in  the  moral  state  of  their  own 
minds ;  if  this  should  become  modified  in  individuals 
during  the  progress  of  eternity,  so  that  there  would  be 
less  fuel  for  Divine  wrath  to  operate  upon,  we  may 
suppose  there  would  be  a  corresponding  abatement  of 
their  sufferings.  The  fire  shall  never  be  quenched ;  but 
the  force  of  its  action  will  be  varied  according  to  the 
state  of  the  subject  on  which  it  operates.  And  why 
shall  this  fire  never  be  quenched?  Because  no  hostile 
power  wijl  ever  be  able  to  quench  it,  either  by  changing 
the  holy  character  of  God,  or  by  controlling  the  righte- 
ous action  of  his  administration.  The  eternal  fire  of 
his  anger  and  fury  is  against  the  spirit  of -a  corrupt  ma- 
lignity ;  and  to  quench  this  fire  would  be  to  change  the 
glory  and  loveliness  of  the  Eternal  Mind.  For  let  it 
be  remembered,  that  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire. 
(Heb.  xii.) 

It  may  be  thought,  perhaps,  that  the  Divine  penalties 
are  so  arranged  and  established,  that  their  own  opera- 
tion will  necessarily  keep  up  the  amount  of  malignity 
that  is  in  each  one  of  the  damned,  in  order  to  perpetu- 
ate their  condition,  and  to  prevent  any  diminution  of 
their  torment.     Can  any  man  prove  this  from  the  Bible  ? 


238  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

If  this  be  true,  Dr.  Dwight  must  have  been  utterly  mis- 
taken, when  he  said  "  The  whole  state  of  mankind  will 
be  settled  agreeably  to  the  most  consummate  benevo- 
lence ;"  for  this  essentially  implies  an  invariable  regard 
to  happiness;  whereas  the  above  hypothesis  supposes 
the  Supreme  Being  to  have  such  an  absolute  regard  to 
misery,  that  he  fixes  sin  in  the  souls  of  his  creatures  by 
omnipotent  power,  lest  they  should  surrender,  and  not 
continue  to  be  suitable  subjects  of  the  amount  of  misery 
which  he  delights  to  inflict  upon  them.  This  would 
plainly  charge  him  with  producing  and  perpetuating 
misery  for  its  own  sake,  which  charge  is  only  applica- 
ble to  a  being  of  unmixed  revenge  and  malignity. 

The  opinion  has  been  too  hastily  taken  for  granted, 
and  too  generally  entertained,  that  we  must  necessarily 
impute  this  kind  of  character  to  our  Creator,  or  other- 
wise adopt  the  system  of  Universalis??!.  Let  any  man 
fairly  prove  this  to  be  the  inevitable  dilemma  which  we 
are  under,  and  he  will  convert  me  to  Universalism  ;  for 
certainly  I  would  sooner  believe  that  all  mankind  will 
be  eternally  happy,  than  I  would  believe  our  Creator  is 
the  most  malevolent  being  in  existence.  The  former 
may  be  called  a  heresy ;  the  latter  would  be  the  highest 
grade  of  blasphemy;  therefore  it  wrould  constitute  by 
far  the  greater  crime  and  heresy  of  the  two.  It  is  in- 
cumbent on  us  to  inquire,  therefore,  if  there  be  not  some 
medium  between  these  extremes. 

In  regard  to  the  modern  system  of  Universalism, 
which  teaches  that  all   punishment  is  confined  to  the 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  239 

present  life,  it  obviously  saps  the  foundation  of  respon- 
sibility, denies  a  future  Judgment,  nullifies  the  warnings 
of  the  Bible,  and  opens  wide  the  door  for  accumulating 
ungodliness  and  crime.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive,  there- 
fore, how  it  can  be  regarded  in  any  other  light  than  as 
a  covert  scheme  of  infidelity. 

The  system  of  those  called  Restorationists,  as  ex- 
plained by  Mr.  Winchester  and  others,  is  somewhat  dif- 
ferent. This  admits  that  God  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness,  and  will  reward  every  man  according  to 
his  works ;  and  hence  it  appears  in  a  great  measure  to 
do  justice  to  the  truth  of  Divine  revelation.  Its  chief 
objectionable  feature  consists  in  gratuitously  adding  to 
the  revelation  of  God  the  following  unsupported  assump- 
tion : — that  at  some  period  in  eternity  all  the  wicked 
portion  of  mankind,  and  perhaps  all  devils,  will  be  re- 
stored to  the  glories  and  felicities  of  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven. 

The  advocates  of  this  doctrine  do  not  say,  however, 
that  any  wicked  creatures  will  be  saved  in  their  wick- 
edness ;  but  that  they  will  be  restored  to  holiness,  and 
thereby  be  qualified  for  a  restoration  to  heavenly  hap- 
piness. They  believe,  if  I  have  a  correct  understand- 
ing of  their  views,  that  this  universal  reformation  will 
be  accomplished  upon  the  Calvinistic  plan  of  saving 
grace;  namely,  by  an  irresistible  operation  of  God, 
that  shall  suspend  or  control  created  agency.  For  if 
they  suppose  agency  still  to  be  left  free,  how  can  they 
know  what  courses  will  be  taken  by  all  wicked  men 


240  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

and  devils  in  a  future  state?  If  we  judge  of  the  future,  by 
past  and  present  facts,  as  they  come  under  our  observa- 
tion, the  repentance  of  ail  sinners,  hereafter,  does  not 
appear  very  probable ;  for  thousands  of  them  in  this 
world  prove  by  their  words  and  actions,  living  and 
dying,  that  they  have  a  deep  abhorrence  of  the  Al- 
mighty; an  utter  aversion  to  all  virtue  and  holiness; 
and  an  obstinate  permanency  of  resolution,  to  take  de- 
light in  malevolence. 

This  permanency  of  resolution  is  not  produced  in 
them  by  another,  but  is  all  their  own.  They  are  so  far 
from  being  forced  into  it,  that  they  obstinately  resist 
and  repel  every  thing  that  would  persuade  them  into  an 
opposite  course.  The  motives  which  are  calculated  to 
change  the  purpose  of  their  will  are  highly  calculated 
to  be  influential ;  but  sinners  turn  away  their  attention 
from  them  with  decided  hostility,  and  will  not  admit 
them  into  the  contemplation  of  their  minds.  Now  this 
fixed  enmity  of  heart  against  God,  carries  within  it  a 
malignant  hostility  to  virtue,  and  of  course  to  all  that 
happiness  which  is  based  on  moral  goodness  as  its 
foundation.  Whether  sinners  will  not  be  found  disposed 
voluntarily  to  carry  on  this  inexcusable  war  for  ever, 
is  a  matter  which,  it  is  presumed,  no  man  in  this  world 
is  able  definitely  to  determine.  And  even  if  all  should 
repent  and  reform,  how  can  Restorationists  prove  that 
the  Almighty  would,  in  consequence  of  it,  be  morally 
bound  to  elevate  them  to  the  glories  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ?     After  forfeiting  their  eligibility  to  that  king- 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  241 

dom,  by  a  course  of  unprincipled  wickedness,  the  spirit 
of  which  they  obstinately  carried  with  them  into  eter- 
nity, will  any  future  repentance  of  theirs  entitle  them  to 
have  it  restored  to  them  1     Certainly  not. 

It  will  be  replied,  however,  that  although  they  can 
never  do  any  thing  which  will  give  them  a  claim  to 
such  a  privilege,  yet  God  has  not  forfeited  his  right  of 
benevolence ;  therefore  if  it  be  his  will  to  extend  such  a 
favour  to  penitent  sinners  in  a  future  state,  he  has  a 
right  to  do  so.  This  must  be  granted;  but  that  which 
we  affirm  is  that  he  has  not  pledged  himself  by  promise, 
to  grant  such  a  favour  to  any  of  Adam's  race,  except 
to  such  as  accept  the  overture  upon  the  gospel  plan, 
during  their  probationary  existence  on  earth :  therefore 
to  conclude  that  he  will  do  it,  is  a  gratuitous  assump- 
tion, for  which  we  have  no  authority  whatever  from  the 
Bible. 

The  advocates  of  this  system,  and  their  zealous  an- 
tagonists, appear  to  have  euibraced  opposite  extremes, 
by  the  same  mental  process.  They  both  appear  to  take 
for  granted,  that  they  have  a  complete  knowledge  of 
all  that  will  take  place  under  the  government  of  God  to 
all  eternity !  In  their  view,  no  "  secret  things  belong  to 
the  Lord  our  God ;"  but  he  has  "  revealed  to  us  and 
to  our  children,"  all  that  he  knows  himself,  in  regard 
to  the  developements  of  infinite  duration !  The  restora- 
tionist  tells  us  that  all  wicked  men  and  devils  will  be 
restored,  and  be  made  joint  heirs  with  Christ,  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  His  opponent  avers,  with  equal 
21  l 


242  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

confidence,  that  all  wicked  men  and  devils  will  continue 
in  a  state  of  infinite  punishment,  and  that  there  will  be 
no  variation  in  their  condition,  or  in  their  misery,  except 
by  way  of  increase,  while  God  himself  exists.  Is  it  not 
possible  that  both  these  men  may  be  mistaken  ?  Is  there 
no  medium  between  such  immense  extremes?  That 
there  is  a  vast  medium  between  them,  is  a  matter  which 
is  perfectly  indisputable ;  for  it  is  proved  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  every  living  man.  Ever  since  we  were 
born,  we  have  found  our  condition  to  be  a  mixture  of 
happiness  and  misery,  in  various  degrees ;  and  who  is 
the  man  that  has  become  so  wise,  as  to  know  with  cer- 
tainty, that  such  a  mixture,  and  such  variety  of  degrees, 
can  have  no  place  in  a  future  state  ? 

For  aught  we  know  to  the  contrary,  our  great  Crea- 
tor may  now  have  more  than  twice  ten  thousand  worlds 
of  moral  agents  under  his  superintendency.  Some  of 
these  may  have  a  larger  proportion  of  misery,  and  others 
a  larger  proportion  of  happiness,  than  we  have  in  this 
world,  according  to  their  moral  relation  to  the  universe; 
and  we  have  no  evidence  of  there  being  any  world, 
excepting  only  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  in  which  happi- 
ness is  unmixed  and  perfect.  In  what  various  ways 
the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds  may  be  eligible  to  a 
translation  into  that  glorious  kingdom,  God  knows,  and 
we  know  not.  Some  of  them,  peradventure,  may  never 
be  eligible  to  such  a  privilege ;  and  yet  may  have  that 
kind  of  mixture  of  good  and  evil  which  we  experience, 
and  which  may  be  in  such  degrees  as  will  render  the 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  243 

condition  of  some  of  them  more  tolerable,  and  that  of 
others  less  tolerable,  than  we  find  our  condition  to  be  in 
the  present  life. 

Now  we  may  confidently  inquire,  both  of  Restora- 
tionists  and  of  their  opponents,  whether  they  will  under- 
take to  prove,  that  God  has  no  right  to  regulate  his 
administration  over  the  vjhole  universe,  according  to  all 
possible  degrees  of  happiness  and  misery,  —  having 
always  a  strict  regard  to  the  moral  condition  of  all  his 
subjects?  If  they  admit  that  he  has  the  right  to  do 
this,  we  would  inquire,  secondly,  whether  they  will 
undertake  to  prove,  that  he  has  revealed  it,  as  his  fixed 
and  eternal  will,  that  the  various  degrees  of  happiness 
and  misery  shall  not  be  taken  into  the  account,  in  his 
ultimate  administration  ? 

Let  it  be  carefully  observed,  that  we  do  not  presume 
to  determine  how  many  worlds  there  are  in  existence, 
or  what  is  their  moral  condition.  These  "  secret  things 
belong  to  the  Lord  our  God ;"  and  not  "  to  us  or  to  our 
children."  We  have  no  evidence  that  any  world,  except 
our  own,  has  fallen  from  moral  rectitude ;  nor  have  we 
any  evidence  of  the  contrary.  What  state  of  discipline 
may  be  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  the  upright 
in  eternal  virtue  and  happiness,  or  what  state  of  punish- 
ment may  be  necessary  for  the  recovery  of  the  fallen, 
we  know  not ;  but  we  know  that  a  mixture  of  happi- 
ness and  misery  for  fallen  creatures,  in  various  degrees, 
is  possible ;  for  it  is  demonstrated  by  our  own  experi- 
ence; and   for  aught  any  man  can  prove  to  the  con- 


244  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

trary,  this  mixture  may  be  diversified  throughout  the 
universe,  with  a  view  to  a  final  and  unmixed  state  of 
felicity  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  for  all  who  will  duly 
improve  their  respective  'states  of  probation.  The 
redemption  accomplished  by  the  Son  of  God  in  our 
world,  may  be  equally  efficacious  in  every  world  where 
it  shall  be  needed.  We  could  not  know,  till  informed 
by  our  Creator,  that  such  a  process  was  necessary  in 
our  own  world ;  and  if  God  should  tell  us,  it  is  equally 
effectual  for  the  salvation  of  other  worlds,  we  would 
have  exactly  the  same  ground  to  believe  it,  that  we  have 
to  believe  that  we  ourselves  are  the  redeemed  creatures 
of  God.  I  grant  he  has  not  told  us  so ;  nor  has  he"  any 
where  said,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  influence  of 
redemption  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  the  surface 
of  the  globe  on  which  we  dwell.  One  of  the  most 
fruitful  sources  of  delusion,  is  man's  vain  imagination 
that  he  is  wise  enough  to  know  every  thing,  while  the 
humiliating  truth  is,  that  he  knows  almost  nothing.  He 
supposes  his  intelligence  can  embrace  all  the  realities 
of  immensity  and  eternity,  at  the  same  time  that  he  is 
confined  to  a  spot  of  ground  on  one  little  globe,  and 
can  scarcely  penetrate  beneath  its  surface.  He  can 
stretch  forward  his  anticipation  through  an  infinite  futu- 
rity, and  can  imagine  that  he  understands  the  final  con- 
summation of  the  Almighty's  vast  plan  of  eternal  go- 
vernment !  He  forms  a  picture  in  his  mind,  of  a  little 
heaven,  and  a  very  large  hell,  the  one  filled  with  infinite 
happiness,  and  the  other  with  infinite  misery ;  and  takes 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  245 

for  granted  that  his  comprehension  of  the  whole  matter 
is  finished,  adequate,  and  complete  ! 

It  may  be  said  however,  in  reply,  that  we  know  what 
belongs  to  a  future  state,  because  God  has  informed  us 
concerning  the  whole  matter.  Does  the  Bible  say  that 
God  has  informed  us  of  all  things  that  are  known  to 
himself,  concerning  the  developements  of  futurity  1  Just 
the  contrary:  it  says  there  are  secret  things  which 
belong  to  the  Lord  our  God,  and  things  which  have  been 
hid  in  God  from  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

In  regard  to  the  future  misery  of  the  wicked,  the  Bi- 
ble teaches  expressly  that  the  degrees  of  it  shall  corre- 
spond with  the  amount  of  turpitude  in  the  guilty  indi- 
viduals. Now  every  moral  reason  which  can  be  given 
for  this  judicial  procedure,  will  be  exactly  the  same 
reason  for  varying  the  treatment  towards  every  subject 
of  punishment,  as  his  moral  character  shall  vary.  If 
one  shall  voluntarily  augment  the  amount  of  his  guilt, 
his  punishment  will  be  increased  accordingly;  if  an- 
other shall  surrender,  and  "  consent  unto  the  law  that  it 
is  good,"  there  may  be  reasons  in  the  system  of  perfect 
rectitude,  for  mitigating  his  condition ;  and  yet  no  rea- 
sons whatever,  for  elevating  him  to  the  felicities  and 
glories  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  modifications 
of  future  punishment  here  supposed,  can  be  denied  on 
no  other  ground,  than  either  that  God  has  no  right  to 
make  it  any  thing  less  than  infinite,  or  that  it  is  not  his 
will  to  do  it.  The  first  dethrones  him  from  his  sovereign 
21* 


246  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

majesty ,  and  the  second  impeaches  his  eternal  charac- 
ter of  love.    * 

The  doctrine  of  the  Restorationist  supposes  that  the 
will  of  reprobates  in  a  future  world,  being  overruled 
by  omnipotent  power,  must  necessarily  come  out  of  a 
state  of  vice  into  a  state  of  virtue ;  while  the  antagonist 
system  supposes  their  agency  will  be  overruled  by  om- 
nipotent power  in  a  contrary  direction,  and  be  immuta- 
bly bound  in  necessary  sin,  as  the  means  of  invariable 
and  unmitigated  punishment.  These  dogmas  appear  to 
me  to  be  alike  false  and  unscriptural ;  while  the  latter 
is  immensely  more  reproachful  to  the  Supreme  Being, 
than  the  former.  If  it  be  consistent  for  any  part  of 
mankind  to  be  saved  upon  this  plan  of  irresistible  power, 
I  see  not  why  all  might  not  be  saved  in  the  same  way ; 
but  the  supposition  that  any  shall  be  punished,  or  that 
their  punishment  shall  be  perpetuated,  upon  such  a  prin- 
ciple of  free-wrath,  is  an  hypothesis  which,  if  I  mistake 
not,  will  become  darker  and  darker,  the  more  tho- 
roughly its  hidden  secrets  shall  be  explored. 

On  the  Bible  axiom,  that  God  is  love,  Dr.  Dwight's 
conclusion  follows  as  light  flows  from  the  sun,  that  the 
ultimate  arrangement  of  the  Divine  administration,  will 
be  "  according  to  the  most  consummate  benevolence  ;" 
consequently,  his  treatment  of  the  wicked  will  be  per- 
fectly just  and  right;  and  will  have  no  severity  in  it 
that  is  inconsistent  with  absolute  goodness.  Hence  it 
follows,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  hell 
to  acknowledge  the  justice  and  goodness  of  God  in 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  247 

their  punishment ;  otherwise  we  say  they  are  under  no 
obligation  to  acknowledge  the  truth,  nor  to  give  that 
honour  to  their  Maker's  character  which  is  his  due. 
But  if  it  be  their  duty  thus  to  acknowledge  the  truth, 
and  if  their  Creator  puts  it  out  of  their  power  to  do  it, 
does  it  not  appear  to  follow,  that  he  hinders  them  from 
doing  right,  and  from  giving  due  honour  to  himself,  for 
the  mere  pleasure  of  perpetuating  the  full  cup  of  their 
misery  1 

It  may  be  supposed,  however,  that  they  have  so  de- 
stroyed their  own  faculties,  or  established  in  themselves 
such  habits  of  evil,  as  to  render  it  eternally  impossible, 
under  any  circumstances,  for  them  to  do  otherwise  than 
to  deny  the  truth,  and  to  hate  God  with  unrelenting  and 
undiminished  hostility.  Can  any  man  prove  this  from 
the  Bible  1  If  not,  why  should  we  be  wise  above  that 
which  is  written  ? 

That  habits  of  evil  may  become  deplorably  confirm- 
ed, is  indeed  a  serious  reality ;  but  whether  it  be  possi- 
ble for  a  living  soul  to  become  devoid  of  agency,  is  a 
matter  on  which  we  may  very  justly  doubt,  till  we  light 
upon  some  sort  of  evidence  to  conduct  us  to  a  definite 
conclusion. 

It  may  be  one  end  of  the  Divine  penalties,  to  restrain 
sinners  from  going  so  deep  in  criminality  as  they  other- 
wise would  go.  Punishment  restrains  the  faculties  from 
vice,  and  hinders  men  from  being  as  wicked  as  they 
otherwise  would  be,  as  all  prisons  and  penitentiaries  on 
earth  will   prove.     Now  the  whole  representation  of 


248  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

Scripture  concerning  future  punishment,  is  that  it  is 
established  on  the  plan  of  a  penitentiary,  or  imprison- 
ment, and  is  not  to  be  an  execution.  The  life  of  the 
offender  is  not  taken ;  but  he  is  bound  in  chains,  and 
punished  in  a  state  of  imprisonment.  Is  it  not  true,  that 
the  inmates  of  a  penitentiary  are  under  the  government 
of  the  state?  Is  it  not  true,  that  a  just  and  good  go- 
vernment will  not  inflict  cruel  and  unnecessary  punish- 
ments upon  any  of  them '(  And  is  it  not  equally  true, 
that  the  government  of  Almighty  God  is  as  just  and 
benevolent  as  those  governments  are,  which  have  been 
formed  by  mankind  ? 

Let  it  be  distinctly  observed,  that  I  do  not  press  this 
analogy  any  further  than  to  these  two  couclusions : — 
1.  That  God  will  not  inflict  cruel  and  unnecessary  pun- 
ishments on  any  individual ;  and  2.  that  his  penalties  are 
intended  to  restrain  the  sinner  from  greater  depths  of 
wickedness,  and  consequently,  from  running  into  greater 
depths  of  misery.  To  say  the  sinner's  punishment  will 
be  eternal,  is  only  to  say  in  other  w7ords,  that  he  is  im- 
prisoned for  life ;  and  how  much  misery  will  be  pre- 
vented, in  his  own  individual  soul,  by  restraining  him 
from  deeper  criminality,  and  peradventure  by  subduing, 
in  some  measure,  and  in  some  period  of  his  existence, 
his  wicked  spirit,  who  but  the  great  Omniscient  himself 
can  tell  1 

The  three  great  axioms  of  Christian  theology  are 
these :    First,  that  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom,  power 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  249 

and  love,  has  formed  the  best  possible  plan  of  holiness 
and  happiness. 

Secondly,  that  upon  this  plan  he  operates  in  the  best 
possible  manner,  to  accomplish  the  good  originally  in- 
tended. 

Thirdly,  that  his  impartial  mind  has  no  respect  to 
persons,  but  that  towards  all  individuals,  and  in  all  peri- 
ods of  time  and  eternity,  he  invariably  and  immutably 
uses  the  best  and  most  efficient  means  to  promote  holi- 
ness and  happiness,  and  to  prevent  and  diminish  sin  and 
misery. 

From  these  principles  it  follows,  that  the  fire  'prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  was  exactly  what  it  ought 
to  be ;  and  that  if  their  Maker  had  rewarded  them  for 
their  wickedness,  and  thereby  encouraged  them  in  it, 
or  if  he  had  left  them  unrestrained,  to  run  into  eternal 
anarchy,  such  a  procedure  would  have  been  as  unmer- 
ciful, as  it  would  have  been  unjust.  Also  that  his  treat- 
ment of  the  sinners  of  Adam's  race,  both  in  time  and 
in  eternity,  is  so  perfectly  correct,  that  the  principle  of 
his  government  could  not  be  altered,  without  being  alter- 
ed for  the  worse. 

The  eternity  of  future  punishment  we  are  bound  to 
believe,  upon  the  indisputable  authority  of  the  Bible; 
but  the  notion  of  its  continuing  for  ever  invariable,  or 
endlessly  increasing,  is  an  assumption  without  evidence, 
immensely  reproachful  to  the  Supreme  Being.  The 
prophet  Daniel  says,  "  Some  shall  arise  to  everlasting 
shame    and   contempt"     Now    if   corporeal    sufferings 


250  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

should  at  some  period,  and  in  some  instances,  be  dimin- 
ished or  removed,  and  if  all  mental  sufferings  should  be 
removed  also,  except  a  sense  of  degradation  and  con- 
tempt, it  would  still  be  eternal  punishment : — An  eternal 
exclusion  from  the  honour  and  glory  and  felicity  of 
"  the  saints  in  light,  who  are  equal  to  angels,  and  who 
shall  shine  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  father"  for 
ever  and  ever. 

We  are  aware,  that  the  alarm  of  heresy  will  be  taken, 
at  the  least  deviation  from  the  supposed  uniformity  and 
infinity  of  hell  torments.  It  is  thought  essential  to  the 
sound  and  orthodox  view  of  this  subject,  to  believe  that 
all  who  are  condemned  in  a  future  state,  are  entirely 
abandoned  to  absolute  misery ;  that  no  degree  of  regard 
will  be  had  to  their  welfare,  throughout  eternal  ages ; 
r;;d  that  any  concern  for  them,  other  than  to  perpetuate 
their  misery,  is  not  to  be  supposed  to  exist  in  the  Divine 
Mind,  and  cannot  be  entertained  by  any  man,  without 
inexcusable  heterodoxy. 

But  why  should  all  regard  to  the  welfare  of  the  mil- 
lions of  those  wretched  creatures  be  abandoned  for  ever? 
Has  the  Deity  no  right  to  entertain  any  other  disposi- 
tion towards  them,  than  that  of  a  fixed  purpose  to  per- 
petuate and  augment  their  misery?  If  he  has  a  right 
to  entertain  other  sentiments  towards  them,  then  it 
would  not  be  icrong  for  him  to  aim  ultimately  at  their 
well-being,  so  far  as  it  could  be  promoted  without  injury 
to  others.  If  it  would  not  be  wrong  for  God  to  do  so, 
then  it  is  not  a  heresy  for  us  to  believe  he  may,  at  some 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  251 

time  or  other,  modify  their  condition,  with  a  view  to  an 
abatement  of  their  misery,  so  far  as  will  consist  with 
the  common  welfare.  Would  such  a  procedure  be  un- 
worthy of  our  Creator  ?  Would  it  tarnish  his  glory  ? 
Would  it  grieve  and  offend  his  holy  angels  ?  If  at  any 
future  period  of  eternity,  a  benefit  could  be  extended  to 
some  of  God's  creatures,  without  injury  to  any,  has  not 
God  authority  to  extend  to  them  that  benefit'?  If  he 
has,  who  will  be  offended  to  see  him  exercise  it  ?  If 
he  has  not,  in  what  way  has  his  authority  been  forfeited? 

To  extend  a  benefit  to  some,  without  injury  to  any, 
would  not  be  unjust,  nor  would  it  be  unmerciful :  then 
if  neither  justice  nor  mercy  would  be  infringed,  what 
attribute  of  God  would  hinder  him  from  exercising  such 
an  administration? 

It  may  be  replied,  perhaps,  that  wTe  have  no  right  to 
inquire  after  any  other  reason  why  God  makes  hell  tor- 
ments invariable  and  infinite,  than  that  such  is  his  will. 
But  this  is  begging  the  question.  The  only  way  by 
which  we  can  ascertain  the  will  of  any  agent,  is  to 
draw  our  conclusion  from  his  known  attributes.  If 
these  be  of  the  benevolent  kind,  so  will  be  his  will;  if 
of  the  malevolent  character,  of  course  we  may  expect 
his  will  to  correspond  with  his  moral  principles.  We 
are  supposing  it  may  possibly  be  the  will  of  God,  at 
some  future  period,  to  modify  the  condition  of  the  moral 
universe  in  a  manner  of  which  we  have  no  definite  con- 
ception ;  and  if  in  doing  it  he  should  be  disposed  to 


252  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

diminish  the  amount  of  existing  misery,  what  moral 
attribute  will  stand  in  the  way  ? 

It  will  doubtless  be  urged,  that  Divine  truth  stands  in 
the  way ;  inasmuch  as  God  would  thereby  fail  to  accom- 
plish his  threatenings.  But  this  is  again  begging  the 
question.  We  do  not  concede  the  point,  that  the  Bible 
gives  any  authority  whatever  to  believe  that  God  will 
make  future  punishment  either  invariable,  augmenting, 
or  infinite.  Those  who  hold  the  affirmative  must  not 
take  their  position  for  granted,  but  must  show  from  the 
clear  testimony  of  revelation,  if  they  are  able,  that  God 
has  threatened  these  things.  It  is  granted  he  has  threat- 
ened eternal  punishment;  but  that  invariability,  accu- 
mulation and  infinity  are  necessarily  included  in  this,  is 
a  silent  assumption  which  is  unsupported  by  proof,  and 
which  ought  not  to  be  taken  for  granted  without  exa- 
mination. 

The  only  effectual  way  to  disarm  the  various  orders 
of  Universalists,  is  to  maintain  that  God's  eternal  admi- 
nistration will  be  carried  on  according  to  the  perfection 
of  moral  principle ;  that  the  action  of  his  government 
will  be  impartial  in  its  application ;  that  its  design  will 
be  to  discourage  sin,  and  to  encourage  right  conduct  in 
all  created  minds ;  that  there  is  nothing  unjust  or  un- 
merciful in  the  disposition  of  the  Divine  Ruler;  and 
that  the  whole  tendency  of  his  penal  arrangements  will 
be  to  operate  against  sin,  and  consequently  against 
misery  for  ever  and  ever. 

Here  the  Universalist  will  reply,  that  such  a  course 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  253 

of  action,  on  the  part  of  God,  will  certainly  bring  all 
sin  and  misery  to  an  end.  How  does  this  consequence 
follow  1  Why  it  follows,  he  will  tell  us,  from  our  Ma- 
ker's Almighty  power.  But  if  sin  could  be  brought  to 
an  end  by  a  mere  exertion  of  power,  what  occasion 
was  there  for  all  the  apparatus  of  moral  government  1 
What  need  is  there  for  commandments,  exhortations, 
promises,  threatenings,  or  penalties  ?  If  this  Calvinistic 
hypothesis  were  tenable,  we  might  well  inquire  why  all 
mankind  are  not  saved  from  sin  and  misery,  without 
any  of  them  going  to  hell  1  The  same  answer  which 
the  Universalist  would  give  to  this  question,  will  be  an 
answer  equally  applicable  to  his  own  assumption,  when 
he  removes  the  Calvinistic  notion  of  irresistible  grace 
to  a  future  state  of  existence.  How  does  he  know  that 
sinners  will  not  be  found  voluntarily  resisting  truth  and 
righteousness  to  all  eternity?  And  even  if  the  most 
hardened  reprobates  should  surrender,  after  maliciously 
fighting  against  God  for  millions  of  centuries,  it  cannot 
be  proved  that  good  principle  would  then  require  that 
they  be  rewarded  with  the  honours  and  felicities  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Such  an  act  of  government,  for 
aught  that  any  man  can  prove  to  the  contrary,  might 
be  directly  calculated  to  promote  sin  and  misery,  instead 
of  preventing  them. 

This  may  be  the  precise  truth  of  the  case,  and  yet  it 
may  be  none  the  less  true,  that  good  principle  will 
require  that  the   condition  of  subdued  rebels  be  miti- 
gated, according  to  their  moral  habits,  and  according 
22 


254  SEVERITY    OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

to  the  circumstances  of  their  surrender  to  the  demands 
of  righteousness. 

In  regard  to  the  query  that  may  arise  in  the  reader's 
mind — what  would  the  Creator  do  with  such  subdued 
and  yielding  sinners  ?  it  may  be  answered  by  another 
question : — is  it  a  more  easy  matter  with  Him  to  man- 
age his  creatures  while  they  remain  wicked,  than  it  is 
to  know  what  to  do  with  them  when  they  forsake  their 
wickedness  1  Is  he  under  the  necessity  to  keep  them 
wicked  by  his  own  power,  or  decree,  for  fear  he  should 
not  know  what  to  do  with  them,  if  they  repent  and 
reform?  As  the  Almighty  has  power  to  create  ten 
thousand  worlds,  so  he  certainly  has  an  undoubted  right 
to  do  it ; — and  also  to  people  those  worlds  according  to 
the  wise  and  just  provisions  of  his  universal  govern- 
ment. The  particulars  we  are  ignorant  of,  but  the 
great  truth  we  know,  and  in  it  should  rest  with  entire 
composure,  that  the  judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right. 
And  that  is,  to  treat  his  creatures,  in  the  case  we  are 
considering,  in  a  wTay  best  calculated  to  promote  their 
own  welfare,  without  injury  to  that  of  others.  Those 
who  deny  this,  if  any  such  there  be,  must  suppose  that  it 
is  not  right  for  creatures  to  be  treated  in  the  way  best  cal- 
culated to  promote  their  own  welfare,  without  injury  to 
the  welfare  of  others ;  or  else,  that  in  a  future  state  our 
Creator  will  not  do  right,  and  of  course,  that  in  some 
way,  a  total  change  will  have  taken  place  in  his  moral 
character. 


SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT.  255 

Alas !  the  fear  of  falling  into  the  heresy  of  Univer- 
salistn  has  caused  the  christian  world  to  look  away 
from  this  subject,  while  their  neglect  to  examine  it,  and 
to  remove  from  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment  the 
tremendous  concomitants  above  specified,  has  vastly 
promoted  and  diffused  the  system  of  Universalism,  of 
which  they  have  been  so  much  in  dread.  Several  other 
questions,  relating  to  this  matter,  will  meet  us  in  the 
subsequent  parts  of  this  discussion ;  and  it  is  hoped  the 
reader  will  consider  them  with  that  fair  and  candid 
attention,  which  their  importance  so  seriously  demands. 
Let  him  not  hastily  conclude,  that  he  is  about  to  be  led 
away  from  the  orthodox  faith,  into  some  dangerous  sys- 
tem of  error  and  heterodoxy ;  for  God  requires  the  fair 
exercise  of  his  mental  faculties,  in  searching  after  the 
truth;  —  in  doing  which,  he  should  take  his  stand  on 
these  two  incontrovertible  axioms :  first,  that  truth  will 
never  contradict  itself;  and  secondly,  that  truth  will 
never  have  a  bad  influence  upon  the  morals  and  happi- 
ness of  mankind. 

The  author  feels  an  unspeakable  solicitude  to  be  can- 
did and  conscientious  in  this  course  of  investigation, 
that  he  may  not  impose  either  upon  his  own  mind,  or 
upon  the  mind  of  his  reader,  by  any  species  of  sophistry 
or  false  evidence  whatever.  The  subject  cannot  be 
either  explained  or  defended,  without  following  it  in  its 
connexions  and  dependencies ;  therefore  let  the  reader, 
in  order  both  to  understand  the  subject,  and  to  appreci- 


256  SEVERITY  OF  FUTURE  PUNISHMENT. 

ate  its  evidences,  patiently  and  deliberately  go  on  to  the 
end  of  the  volume.  By  so  doing  he  will  find,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  that  one  part  of  the  subject  is  illustrated  and 
strengthened  by  another;  and  that  when  the  various 
parts  are  brought  together  and  viewed  in  their  con- 
nexions, their  evidence  will  be  found  to  accumulate, 
and  to  become  entirely  satisfactory  and  convincing. 


PART    FOURTH. 

OBLIGATIONS   ON   MANKIND    RESULTING  FROM 
THE  DIVINE  CHARACTER. 


SECTION  I. 

Consideration. 

The  design  of  our  Creator  in  making  himself  known 
to  his  intelligent  creatures,  is  to  impress  his  own  cha- 
racter on  them,  that  they  may  be  beautified  with  his 
likeness,  and  may  partake  of  his  essential  felicity.  This 
is  not  to  be  done  by  any  mechanical  action,  but  by  that 
mental  and  moral  influence  of  spirit  upon  spirit,  which 
results  from  their  mutual  and  voluntary  concurrence. 
The  first  thing  required,  on  our  part,  is  attention.  The 
voice  of  God  through  nature,  through  his  written  word, 
or  by  a  spiritual  influence,  will  be  alike  unavailing,  if 
we  will  not  consider  the  subject  of  his  communication. 
All  the  beneficial  effects  which  his  goodness  designs  in 
our  favour,  must  secondarily  depend  upon  the  free  exer- 
cise of  our  voluntary  powers ;  and  truth  cannot  occupy 
the  understanding,  and  influence  the  soul,  unless  it  be 
admitted  through  the  medium  of  a  fixed  and  habitual 
attention. 

22*  L*  <257) 


258  CONSIDERATION. 

And  what  truth  ever  approached  the  human  mind 
which  is  better  calculated  to  fix  its  attention  than  the 
one  before  us — that  a  supreme  Being  exists  ivhose  power 
is  almighty,  and  whose  immutable  character  is  love  ?  If 
created  minds  should  study  to  all  eternity  to  ascertain 
what  precise  circumstances  of  existence  they  would 
choose,  how  would  it  be  possible  for  them  ever  to  con- 
ceive any  thing  better,  than  to  live  under  the  protection 
of  Almighty  power,  invariably  directed  by  infallible  wis- 
dom, and  by  unchanging  good-will  for  the  whole  crea- 
tion ?  A  prospect  like  this  is  in  its  nature  calculated  to 
fill  all  mental  being  with  the  most  sublime  enjoyment, 
and  with  sentiments  of  wonder,  love,  and  praise.  Yet, 
amazing  to  tell !  few  subjects  of  human  thought  are 
more  habitually  overlooked  and  neglected  by  man's 
heedless  and  infatuated  spirit !  '  Israel  doth  not  knoiv, 
my  people  doth  not  consider.1 

How  is  this  strange  phenomenon  to  be  accounted  for  1 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  subject  of  God's  glorious 
character  is  the  most  worthy  of  consideration  of  any 
that  can  be  held  up  to  the  view  of  the  human  under- 
standing. It  is  equally  evident  that  every  one  of  us 
has  a  deeper  interest  in  this  subject  than  in  any  other ; 
and  also,  that  it  has  the  highest  claims,  and  imposes  the 
greatest  possible  obligation  upon  all  created  spirits. 
Then  why  is  it  that  mankind  will  not  consider  this  mat- 
ter of  such  overwhelming  importance  ?  Alas !  there 
must  be  an  unspeakable  depth  of  folly  and  of  crime,  in 


CONSIDERATION.  259 

this  astonishing  and  inexcusable  disposition  of  the  hu- 
man heart. 

Did  I  say  inexcusable  ?  But  they  all  with  one  con- 
sent begin  to  make  excuse.  One  must  go  to  his  farm, 
and  another  to  his  merchandise.  One  is  too  busy,  an- 
other too  merry,  and  another  too  indolent  to  devote  any 
consideration  to  the  character  and  claims  of  Him  who 
brought  them  into  life !  They  practically  and  con- 
temptuously say  by  their  actions,  that  every  thing  be- 
longing to  God's  authority  and  kingdom  is  utterly 
beneath  their  attention !  Is  it  because  they  will  not 
believe  he  is  a  Being  of  a  perfectly  good  character? 
And  why  will  they  not  believe  ?  Because  they  will  not 
consider.  Do  they  take  for  granted,  as  a  matter  of 
intuitive  certainty,  that  the  claims  of  God  upon  them 
are  severe  and  unjust,  as  being  calculated  to  destroy 
their  mirth,  their  amusements,  their  pleasures,  their  repu- 
tation and  their  worldly  interests  1  But  it  is  obviously 
deducible  from  the  character  of  infinite  perfection,  as 
well  as  established  by  the  Divine  testimony,  that  it  is 
from  a  benevolent  regard  to  our  own  felicity  that  God 
withholds  any  kind  or  degree  of  pleasure  from  mankind. 
He  prohibits  such  pleasures  only  as  would  render  us 
foolish  and  criminal,  and  would  destroy  the  permanent 
happiness  of  our  existence.  If  men  would  duly  exer- 
cise their  minds  in  thinking,  the  rays  of  truth  would 
show  them  the  correct  state  of  the  case ;  and  the  delu- 
sive snare  would  be  broken.  Sinful  pleasures  and 
amusements  would  be  seen  to  be  vain  and  destructive ; 


260  CONSIDERATION. 

while  God  would  appear  as  the  essential  Fountain  of 
living  waters. 

It  is  consideration  which  gives  strength  to  argument, 
and  energy  to  motive;  therefore  on  it  depends,  chiefly, 
the  ultimate  character  and  destiny  of  every  man.  I  do 
not  mean  that  in  the  abstract  it  adds  any  thing  to  the 
force  of  arguments  and  motives  ;  but  that  their  inherent 
strength  is  brought  to  bear  upon  the  mind  and  heart,  in 
proportion  as  they  are  weighed  in  the  balance  of  impar- 
tial consideration. 

A  doctrine  has  sometimes  been  hastily  entertained, 
which  would  perfectly  excuse  the  inconsiderate  sinner, 
in  all  his  heedless  inattention  to  the  communications  and 
claims  of  his  Creator :  namely,  that  neither  belief  nor 
action  is  in  our  power ;  but  that  every  man  necessarily 
believes  according  to  the  strongest  evidence,  and  acts 
in  the  direction  of  the  strongest  motive.  But  the  strength 
both  of  arguments  and  motives,  is  modified  in  its  influ- 
ence on  the  mind,  by  the  amount  of  consideration  de- 
voted to  it.  A  good  argument  or  motive  gathers 
strength  in  proportion  as  the  mind  attentively  surveys 
it ;  and  a  defective  one  loses  its  force,  by  precisely  the 
same  process. 

Ought  not  every  man's  judgment  to  follow  the  best 
arguments,  and  his  will  to  follow  the  strongest  motives  ? 
If  we  answer  in  the  affirmative,  it  follows  that  every 
one  is  able  to  do  so ;  otherwise  we  say  men  ought  to  do 
that  which  they  cannot  do.  If  on  the  other  hand  we 
say  men  ought  not  to  follow  the  strongest  arguments 


CONSIDERATION.  261 

and  motives,  then  they  ought  not  to  be  wise  and  virtu- 
ous. This  conclusion  cannot  be  denied,  unless  it  can 
be  made  to  appear  that  the  strongest  reasons  and  mo- 
tives do  not  lead  to  wisdom  and  virtue ;  and  if  this  can 
be  made  to  appear,  it  will  follow,  either  that  God  does 
not  enjoin  on  mankind  to  be  wise  and  virtuous,  or  that 
he  has  failed  to  give  them  sufficient  reasons  to  influence 
them  practically  to  regard  his  injunctions. 

Is  it  wise  for  a  man  always  to  follow  the  strongest 
reasons  and  motives  ?  If  it  is,  and  if  it  be  true  that 
every  one  must  do  so,  and  cannot  do  otherwise,  then  of 
course  every  man  in  the  world  is  a  wise  man  by  neces- 
sity, and  such  a  being  as  a  fool  has  never  existed  upon 
the  earth.  The  same  will  equally  apply  to  virtue  and 
piety ;  and,  in  short,  if  this  metaphysical  and  mechanical 
force  of  evidence  and  motives  be  admitted,  the  distinc- 
tion between  wisdom  and  folly,  right  and  wrong,  must 
be  given  up. 

But  why  need  we  puzzle  ourselves  with  these  ab- 
stract speculations  ?  We  have  the  knowledge  of  con- 
sciousness, which  is  that  of  perfect  certainty,  that  we 
are  free,  both  in  the  formation  of  our  opinions,  and  in 
the  performance  of  our  actions.  We  can  consider  a 
subject,  or  totally  neglect  it,  whether  it  be  a  matter  of 
faith  or  of  practice ;  and  on  that  consideration  depends 
the  strength  or  the  weakness,  both  of  the  evidence  and 
the  motive  by  which  we  are  influenced.  This  freedom, 
it  is  true,  is  not  absolute :  it  is  limited  in  various  ways ; 


262  CONSIDERATION. 

but  still  it  is  sufficient  to  lay  the  foundation  for  our 
responsibility,  and  "  to  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man." 

In  the  holy  Scriptures  men  are  charged  with  being 
stiff-necked,  obstinate,  hard-hearted  and  rebellious ; 
always  resisting  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  turning  away 
their  ears  from  the  truth.  Now  all  this  implies  resist- 
ing motives,  in  order  to  prevent  their  irffluence  on  the 
mind.  And  when  a  man  insists  the  influence  of  a  mo- 
tive, is  it  because  he  is  compelled  to  do  it  by  an  oppo- 
site motive  which  is  irresistible  ?  Then  why  need  he 
resist  the  weaker  motive,  seeing  the  stronger  one  will 
draw  him  in  the  course  of  destiny  without  any  effort 
on  his  part  to  aid  its  operation  ? 

This  resistance  of  good  motives,  which  the  Bible 
represents  as  an  enormous  crime,  consists  chiefly  in  an 
obstinate  incorisi deration ;  for  it  is  only  by  a  candid 
attention  to  the  truth,  that  the  force  of  the  motives  pre- 
sented by  it  can  be  felt  and  appreciated ;  and  of  course 
a  neglect  of  this  attention,  will  cause  the  motive  to  be 
unperceived.  The  sinner  bars  his  mind  against  the 
truth,  by  levity,  scorn,  company,  amusements,  and 
diversified  scenes  of  dissipation,  on  purpose  to  prevent 
reflection ;  and  he  does  this  that  the  weight  of  religious 
motives  may  not  get  hold  of  his  understanding,  disturb 
his  conscience,  and  interrupt  him  in  the  indulgence  of 
his  vicious  passions.  This  is  the  main-spring  of  infi- 
delity and  irreligion ;  it  is  the  fruitful  source  of  all  kinds 
of  wickedness;  it  is  the  principal  cause  of  the  misery 
and  perdition  of  mankind. — They  will  not  consider. 


CONSIDERATION.  263 

It  is  also  the  chief  cause  of  the  prevailing  error  which, 
misrepresents  the  character  of  God,  and  of  his  adminis- 
tration. It  is  thought  necessary  for  hell  to  be  exhibited 
before  the  mind,  as  a  state  of  misery,  as  great  as  Al- 
mighty power  can  make  it ;  because  it  is  supposed  that 
nothing  short  of  this  will  have  a  restraining  influence 
upon  sinners.  But  if  men  would  be  considerate,  they 
would  perceive  that  there  are  stronger  motives  to  obey 
God,  arising  from  a  just  view  of  his  righteous  charac- 
ter, than  can  possibly  result  from  all  the  fire  and  brim- 
stone, storm  and  tempest,  that  ever  entered  into  the 
human  imagination.  They  would  see  that  the  former 
source  furnishes  stronger  motives  than  the  latter,  even 
to  operate  upon  their  fears,  provided  we  speak  of  an 
intelligent  fear,  and  not  the  fright  and  terror  of  a  mere 
animal.  What  can  more  effectually  excite  the  fears 
of  a  rational  being,  than  the  anticipation  that  his  pun- 
ishment will  be  required  by  a  benevolence  which  is  un- 
mixed with  any  malignant  sentiment  towards  any  crea- 
ture in  existence  1  This  supposes  that  sin  involves  a 
dreadful  necessity  for  his  punishment.  How  alarming 
the  thoughts,  that  all  heaven  will  agree  to  his  condem- 
nation, because  the  well-being  of  heaven  requires  it! 
All  virtuous  beings  are  compelled  to  take  a  determined 
though  reluctant  stand  against  him  !  Then  where  shall 
the  sinner  look  for  hope  or  consolation  ?  If  heavenly 
love  is  constrained  to  cast  him  off,  can  the  malice  of 
hell  do  any  thing  for  his  benefit  1 

The  fears  of  a  terrified  imagination,  picturing  hell  as 


264  CONSIDERATION. 

a  very  frightful  place,  may  indeed  make  a  strong  im- 
pression upon  the  feelings  of  the  heart ;  but  they  cannot 
enter  so  deeply  into  the  intelligence  of  the  mind,  nor 
produce  so  permanent  an  influence  upon  the  will,  as  the 
impressive  anticipations  derived  from  a  rational  and 
correct  view  of  the  justice  and  perfection  of  moral  go- 
vernment. 

Some  appear  to  suppose,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  is 
dangerous  to  exhibit  to  mankind  any  other  views  of 
future  misery,  than  such  as  will  fill  the  mind  and  imagi- 
nation with  the  utmost  horror  possible.  Nothing  must 
be  said  or  intimated,  which  will  imply  any  thing  else 
than  that  sinners,  when  sent  to  hell,  will  suffer  the  ut- 
most agonies  of  fire;  —  that  their  senses,  external  and 
internal,  all  the  capacities  of  their  physical  and  mental 
being,  will  be  filled  as  full  of  torment  as  they  can  hold  ; 
— and  that  their  agency  will  be  judicially  held  in  a  state 
of  invariable  corruption,  in  order  that  their  misery  may 
be  perpetuated,  and  may  continue  increasing  for  ever 
and  ever.  Now  after  a  minister  has  finished  a  sermon 
of  this  kind,  let  him  sit  down  and  consider,  whether  it 
would  be  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  for  an  almighty 
Moloch  to  do  any  thing  more  than  he  says  will  be  done 
by  the  God  of  love  ?  and  whether  it  will  not  follow  from 
such  doctrine,  that  an  infinite  tyranny  is  necessary  to 
the  welfare  of  God's  creation  ?  Must  such  views  as 
these  be  constantly  urged  upon  mankind,  because  no 
other  conceptions  of  God  and  futurity  will  restrain  them 
from  sin?    Then  what  a  ridiculous  and  mysterious  race 


CONSIDERATION.  265 

of  creatures  we  are !  It  seems  to  imply  that  men's 
hatred  of  God's  character  and  kingdom,  is  such,  that 
they  will  resolve  to  sin  on  till  they  die,  provided  only 
that  their  future  punishment  be  not  extended  to  the 
utmost  bounds  of  possibility.  And  will  any  other  con- 
ception cause  saints  also  to  apostatize,  because  of  their 
deep  desire  to  get  away  from  God  1  Will  nothing  short 
of  the  anticipation  of  infinite  misery  be  sufficient  to  keep 
them  to  their  allegiance?  Would  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven  also  go  away,  if  it  were  not  for  a  like  anticipa- 
tion ?  Alas !  an  affirmative  answer  to  these  questions 
would  presumptuously  assume,  that  the  service  which 
God  requires  of  his  children  is  so  oppressive,  that  no- 
thing short  of  despotic  power  will  keep  any  of  them  to 
their  duty ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  God  has  to  be  a 
tyrant  in  his  penalties,  because  he  is  a  tyrant  in  the 
obedience  which  he  requires  of  his  creatures. 

It  is  readily  admitted  that  the  utmost  care  should  be 
observed,  not  to  give  encouragement  to  sin ;  but  the 
way  to  avoid  this,  is  to  point  out  the  deep  malignity  of 
sin,  both  in  principle  and  in  tendency.  Its  odious  de- 
formity, and  poisonous  influence  upon  happiness  are  such, 
that  pure  benevolence  is  constrained  to  treat  sinners 
with  a  severity  that  is  inconceivably  dreadful,  as  the 
only  possible  way  of  preventing  a  greater  evil.  Should 
sinners  be  unrestrained  in  their  abominations,  not  only 
would  they  diffuse  misery  through  the  creation,  but 
would  in  the  issue  bring  a  greater  amount  of  it  upon 
themselves,  than  they  are  made  to  feel  by  the  operation 
23  m 


266  THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE. 

of  the  Divine  penalties.  This  doctrine,  while  it  fur- 
nishes the  greatest  discouragement  to  sin  that  can  be 
conceived,  at  the  same  time  encourages  the  sinner  to 
turn  to  God,  as  to  the  bosom  of  infinite  love ;  but  to 
tell  mankind,  on  the  other  hand,  that  sin  in  itself  would 
not  be  productive  of  any  great  misery,  were  it  not  for 
an  Almighty  act  of  arbitrary  vengeance,  would  not  be 
calculated  to  discourage  sin ;  but  to  demolish  the  found- 
ation of  virtue  and  holiness,  by  representing  the  Su- 
preme Being  as  full  of  malevolence,  and  as  having  no- 
thing in  his  character  that  can  be  regarded  as  an  intel- 
ligent basis  of  hope,  confidence,  or  complacency. 


SECTION  II. 
The  Fear  of  God. — Repentance. 

Fear  is  one  of  the  prominent  springs  of  action  in 
human  nature ;  and  it  always  implies  an  apprehension 
of  some  calamity,  or  of  some  kind  of  unhappiness, 
which  we  desire  to  avoid. 

When  it  apprehends  danger  of  any  kind  from  the 
action  of  a  voluntary  agent,  it  is  excited  by  our  view 
of  his  character  and  designs,  and  modifies  our  conduct 
accordingly.  If  we  apprehend  that  we  are  in  danger 
of  falling  under  any  afflictive  action  of  a  malignant 
being,  fear  excites  us  to  inquire  for  a  way  of  escape ; 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE.  267 

we  naturally  run  from  him,  and  if  we  can  be  concealed 
where  he  cannot  find  us,  we  gladly  avail  ourselves  of 
such  an  asylum.  If  we  cannot  hide  ourselves,  or  run 
away  and  escape  his  pursuit,  the  next  inquiry  is,  are  we 
able  to  resist  and  to  conquer  him  1  If  so,  we  at  once 
assume  the  attitude  of  determined  opposition.  But  if 
this  be  regarded  as  a  hopeless  enterprise,  the  third  in- 
quiry is,  can  we  do  any  thing  to  appease  his  anger,  or 
to  change  the  purpose  of  his  mind  ?  Fear  will  influ- 
ence us  to  flatter  him,  to  deceive  him,  and  to  take  every 
advantage  of  his  passions  ;  but  never  to  trust,  or  to  love 
him. 

Does  our  Creator  require  of  any  of  his  creatures  to 
exercise  towards  him  this  kind  of  fear  I  Never.  And 
why  not?  Precisely  because  our  Creator  is  not  a  ma- 
lignant being.  But  how,  it  may  be  inquired,  can  a  per- 
fectly good  being,  be  regarded  as  an  object  of  fear? 
Because  a  good  being  loves  and  supports  goodness 
only :  the  righteous  Lord  loveth  righteousness,  and  con- 
sequently hateth  iniquity.  To  say  that  a  perfectly  good 
being  loves  and  patronises  evil,  is  a  contradiction ;  for 
a  righteous  principle  in  any  mind,  is  an  invariable  reso- 
lution to  maintain  right,  and  of  course  to  oppose  every 
thing  that  is  wrong ;  because  the  former  is  the  source 
of  all  happiness,  and  the  latter  is  the  source  of  all  mise- 
ry. Almighty  goodness  is  clothed  with  supreme  author- 
ity, to  demand  good  conduct  of  all  that  are  under 
his  dominion;  and  to  punish  evil-doers  to  the  utmost 


268  THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE. 

extent  that  may  be  necessary  to  protect  the  common 
welfare,  and  to  maintain  universal  right. 

Now  the  fear  of  such  a  Being,  is  a  fear  arising  from 
a  just  view  of  the  essential  goodness  of  his  character ; 
this  influences  us  to  forsake  wrong,  which  is  the  only 
thing  that  goodness  punishes,  and  to  pursue  and  prac- 
tise right,  which  it  always  sanctions  and  rewards. 
Hence  we  perceive,  that  this  fear,  far  from  causing  us 
to  run  away  from  God,  draws  us  unto  him,  and  influ- 
ences us  to  conform  to  his  righteous  law,  as  the  only 
way  of  happiness  and  safety.  We  fear  the  energy  of 
his  holy  character,  which  always  strikes  at  a  distance ; 
we  come  into  the  centre  of  it,  where  we  are  safe ;  and 
there  remains  nothing  to  excite  uneasy  apprehensions. 

This  fear  of  God,  arising  as  it  does  from  a  just  view 
of  his  perfect  character,  includes  in  it  all  the  reverence 
that  is  due  to  such  a  character.  The  more  clear  our 
conceptions  are  of  the  glory  and  loveliness  of  the  Eter- 
nal Mind,  the  more  cause  have  we  to  love  and  admire 
it ;  and  at  the  same  time,  the  greater  is  our  fear  of  its 
displeasure. 

"Abash'd  the  devil  stood,  and  felt  how  awful 
Goodness  is."  —  Milton. 

The  reader  need  not  be  told  how  often  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  enjoined  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament ;  but  a 
few  specimens  may  be  given  to  show  that  the  kind  of 
fear  required,  is  that  which  draws  the  soul  to  God,  as 
above  described.     "  Only  fear  the  Lord,  and  serve  him 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE.  269 

in  truth,  with  all  your  heart."  "  O  that  there  were  such 
an  heart  in  them,  that  they  would  fear  me,  and  keep  my 
commandments  always."  "  Fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments, for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man."  "  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  to  depart  from  evil"  " Serve  God 
acceptably,  with  reverence  and  godly  fear."  "  Perfect- 
ing holiness  in  the  fear  of  God." 

Now  we  say  it  is  obligatory  on  mankind  to  exercise 
this  fear,  and  that  the  obligation  results  from  the  per- 
fection and  glory  of  our  Creator.  We  are  bound  to 
fear  and  reverence  the  authority  of  goodness ;  for  good- 
ness, and  nothing  else,  possesses  authority.  We  may 
fear  and  dread  a  tyrant ;  but  there  is  no  virtue  in  this 
fear,  nor  does  it  result  from  a  regard  to  just  authority ; 
for  in  a  tyrant  there  is  none.  We  may  dread  his  power, 
his  cunning,  and  his  malevolence ;  but  a  fear  of  these 
things,  w7here  there  is  no  goodness,  only  excites  in  us 
hatred  and  contempt ;  and  influences  us  to  flee  as  far 
as  we  can  from  the  abhorred  object,  or  else  to  approach 
only  to  deceive,  to  flatter,  or  to  fight  him.  A  tyrant, 
we  say,  has  no  authority :  and  therefore  his  character 
cannot  impose  on  us  any  manner  of  obligation.  Au- 
thority signifies  the  right  to  govern,  which  is  the  right 
of  goodness  alone ;  and  the  pretended  right  of  conquest, 
is  an  old  claim  of  despotism,  derived  from  the  ridicu- 
lous assumption  that  right  has  its  origin  in  power.  If  a 
just  authority  can  be  separated  from  goodness,  then  of 
course  the  devil  is  a  proper  ruler,  and  ought  to  be  feared 
and  reverenced  as  such. 
23* 


270  THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE. 

Both  power  and  intelligence  are  lovely  and  glorious, 
when  operating  as  the  agents  and  ministers  of  Benevo- 
lence, from  the  influence  of  which  they  derive  all  their 
beauty  and  all  their  value ;  but  when  perverted  from 
their  proper  ends,  by  being  associated  with  malignity, 
they  lose  all  their  authority ;  and  we  feel  no  other  sen- 
timent towards  the  tyrant,  than  a  desire  to  defeat  his 
wisdom,  and  to  despoil  him  of  his  power. 

We  are  told  that  there  was  an  unjust  judge,  who 
feared  not  God  nor  regarded  man ;  whence  we  infer, 
that  where  there  is  no  reverential  awe  of  a  righteous 
governing  power,  there  will  be  no  regard  to  the  welfare 
of  society.  The  apostle  Paul,  in  giving  the  darkest 
portrait  to  be  found  any  where  on  record,  closes  it  by 
saying,  There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes.  (See 
Rom.  chap.  iii.  verses  30 — 18.)  Now  if  the  fear  of 
God  restrains  men  from  such  vices,  and  leads  to  the 
opposite  virtues,  as  the  Scriptures  every  where  testify, 
this  fear  is  undeniably  excited  by  the  authoritative  influ- 
ence of  a  perfect  character;  and  consequently,  so  far 
as  the  imagination  clothes  the  Almighty  with  false  attri- 
butes, so  far  the  fear  of  such  a  being  is  corrupt  in  prin- 
ciple, and  deficient  in  moral  tendency. 

It  is  on  this  ground  alone,  that  a  soul  destitute  of  the 
fear  of  God,  is  in  a  criminal  condition ;  for  a  refusal  to 
fear  an  evil  or  malignant  beinsr  is  no  crime.  We  are 
not  commanded  to  fear  the  devil ;  but  on  the  contrary, 
to  resist,  and  fight,  and  conquer  him,  with  the  whole 
armour  of  God.    And  throughout  the  universe,  wherever 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE.  271 

a  tyrant  is  found,  it  is  a  virtue  to  resist  him,  and  to 
overcome  him  if  we  can.  Not,  however,  with  carnal 
weapons ;  but  with  those  which  are  "  mighty  through 
God,  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds."  All  despots 
dread  the  power  of  truth  and  love,  more  than  they  dread 
any  other  weapon  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  against 
them ;  and  by  the  energy  of  these  principles  does  our 
Maker  operate  throughout  the  moral  universe. 

It  is  the  reverential  fear  of  this  holy  Being  that  brings 
the  sinner  to  repentance.  To  repent  for  having  rebelled 
against  a  tyrant,  is  to  repent  for  having  done  right ;  for 
tyranny  is  essentially  abominable,  and  is  the  foundation 
of  all  kinds  of  misery. 

"  Or  despisest  thou  the  riches  of  his  goodness,  and 
forbearance,  and  long-suffering ;  not  knowing  that  the 
goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  ?  but  after 
thy  hardness  and  impenitent  heart,  treasurest  up  unto 
thyself  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation 
of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God."  (Rom.  ii.  4.)  To 
repent  is  to  acknowledge  that  we  have  done  icrong ; 
and  of  course,  that  the  law  which  God  enjoined  upon 
us  was  right ;  that  we  have  been  bad  creatures  in  op- 
posing God,  and  consequently  that  He  whom  we  opposed 
is  good.  The  more  impressive  our  views  are  of  his 
eternal  excellency,  the  deeper  is  the  conviction  of  our 
own  vileness  and  depravity.  Hence  it  is  clear  as  day, 
that  the  goodness  of  God  is  the  only  thing  that  ever  did 
or  ever  will  lead  any  sinner  to  true  repentance.  How 
vain  is  the  imagination,  then,  that  it  is  necessary  to 


272  THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE. 

clothe  the  Almighty  with  the  attributes  of  a  tyrant,  m 
order  to  restrain  men  from  sin,  and  to  keep  them  from 
being  impenitent !  It  is  a  daring  and  an  inexcusable  hos- 
tility to  infinite  kindness,  which  renders  the  character 
of  the  sinner  so  truly  contemptible  and  odious.  With 
a  fool-hardy  obstinacy  and  self-importance,  he  contemns 
God,  instead  of  fearing  him.  He  despises  goodness; 
and  what  could  the  devil  do  more  ?  The  sinner  spends 
his  breath  in  cursing  and  bitterness,  instead  of  prayer ; 
he  hates  God,  because  God  is  lovely ;  he  tramples  upon 
the  rights  and  the  happiness  of  his  fellow  men,  and 
hardens  his  heart  in  impenitency.  Hence  he  treasures 
up  wrath  unto  himself;  and  all  beings  who  have  any 
truth  and  goodness  in  them,  will  agree  that  he  ought  to 
be  damned.  The  righteous  judgment  of  God  against 
him  will  be  amiable  and  lovely  in  the  sight  of  all  hea- 
ven ;  and  no  where  but  in  the  dark  anarchy  and  despot- 
ism of  hell,  will  any  cavil  or  objection  be  made  against 
it.  The  excuses  and  apologies  of  sinners  will  be  seen 
to  be  all  founded  upon  falsehood,  and  that  they  persisted 
in  their  mad  hostility,  because  God  would  not  patronise 
and  sustain  them  in  maliciously  violating  the  rights  of 
universal  society. 

We  should  be  careful  not  to  represent  God  as  the 
author  of  evil,  or  as  delighting  in  vengeance ;  because  it 
is  plain  that  in  proportion  as  the  blame  is  cast  upon 
God,  it  is  taken  off  from  the  sinner;  which  of  course 
will  tend  to  excuse  and  harden  him  in  his  impenitence. 
Let  the  sinner  be  convinced  that  God  is  perfectly  just 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.— REPENTANCE.  273 

and  amiable  in  his  dispositions,  purposes,  and  actions, 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting;  and  this  goodness  of 
God,  if  any  thing,  will  lead  him  to  a  true  and  honest, 
and  effectual  repentance. 

It  is  not  the  will  of  God  that  his  creatures  should  fear 
him  with  a  tormenting  fear;  for  he  desires  that  they 
should  love  him  perfectly ;  and  the  apostle  John  says, 
Perfect  love  casteth  out  fear,  because  fear  hath  torment. 
A  soul  filled  with  this  love  hath  no  dread  of  future  pun- 
ishment, and  no  torment  arising  from  that  dread.  Yet 
the  fear  of  God  abides  within  him,  in  higher  perfection 
than  it  ever  did  before.  But  how7  can  this  be  reconciled 
with  our  definition  of  fear,  that  it  always  implies  an 
apprehension  of  some  calamity,  or  of  some  kind  of  un- 
happiness,  which  we  desire  to  avoid  1  The  answTer  is, 
that  to  the  mind  of  a  perfect  lover  of  God,  the  appre- 
hension of  displeasing  him,  or  in  any  way  grieving  his 
Holy  Spirit,  is  regarded  as  a  calamity  and  an  unhappi- 
ness,  more  influential  upon  him,  than  the  fear  of  future 
punishment  itself  is  upon  the  returning  penitent,  in  the 
incipient  stages  of  his  reformation. 


SECTION  III. 

Confidence  in  God. 

A  perfect  character  entitles  its  possessor  to  the  full 
confidence  of  others,  which  cannot  be  withheld  or  re- 
fused without  an  act  of  the  highest  injustice.  Where 
there  is  no  confidence  in  God,  there  can  be  no  gratitude, 
no  obedience,  no  hope,  no  happiness,  and  no  heaven. 
Hence  the  demand  for  our  faith  is  obviously  at  the 
foundation  of  every  other  claim  that  our  Maker  can 
have  upon  us.  If  God  be  not  trustworthy,  he  deserves 
not  our  love,  and  has  no  right  to  our  respect  or  our 
obedience.  If  we  have  a  right  to  disbelieve,  we  have 
an  equal  right  to  refuse  and  rebel,  and  to  fight  against 
God.  Unbelief,  therefore,  is  the  original  sin,  and  the 
parent  crime,  which  nourishes  and  strengthens  every 
other  vice  of  the  human  heart.  Its  first-born  is  pride  ; 
which  is  the  belief  of  a  falsehood  concerning  our  own 
worth,  virtue,  wisdom  or  ability.  This  takes  its  rise 
from  a  disbelief  in  the  glory  of  the  Divine  character, 
which  glory  we  proudly  transfer  to  ourselves. 

The  faith  required  in  the  gospel  does  three  things : 
first,  it  does  justice  to  the  evidence  of  truth,  which  sus- 
tains and  proves  the  character  of  God ;  secondly,  it 
honours  God  for  having  such  a  character ;  and  thirdly, 
it  confides  or  trusts  in  God,  to  support  all  our  essential 
interests  in  time  and  in  eternity. 

(274) 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD.  275 

Nothing  but  a  perfect  character  can  inspire  such 
confidence,  or  be  worthy  of  it ;  a  Being  possessing  this 
is  worthy  of  it,  and  has  a  just  right  to  claim  it,  from 
all  to  whom  his  excellency  is  made  known. 

"  God,  we  are  to  remember,"  says  Dr.  Dwight,  "  is 
the  last  appeal,  resort,  and  hope,  of  Intelligent  beings. 
By  whomsoever  else  the  soul  is  deceived,  or  disappoint- 
ed, it  rests  on  him  with  perfect  reliance ;  because  it 
considers  his  truth  as  the  great  mountains,  and  his  faith- 
fulness as  enduring  for  ever.  If  no  confidence  could 
be  placed  in  him,  none  could  be  placed  elsewhere. 
Every  thought,  purpose,  interest,  consolation,  and  hope, 
would  be  afloat  on  the  waves  of  a  boundless  and 
perpetually  disturbed  ocean,  where  rest  and  safety 
could  never  be  found.  All  beings  would  distrust  all ; 
and  the  universe,  filled  as  it  is  with  inhabitants,  would 
become  a  solitude.  Suspicion  and  jealousy  would  make 
all  beings  strangers,  and  enemies  to  each  other.  Sus- 
pense would  fill  every  mind,  and  hang  over  every  en- 
joyment. The  Mind,  stretching  its  view  through  eter- 
nity and  immensity,  would  discern  no  pole-star,  by 
which  it  might  steer  its  course ;  no  haven,  whither  it 
might  betake  itself  for  safety  and  repose.  The  truth 
of  God  hushes  this  stormy  and  restless  ocean  to  peace. 
All  his  creatures  know,  or  may  know,  that  his  purposes, 
declarations,  and  promises,  are  eternal  and  immutable  ; 
and  that,  therefore,  he  cannot  deceive  their  confidence, 
nor  disappoint  their  reasonable  hopes ;  that  he  is  the 
Rock,  on  which  is  founded  the  great  building  of  the  uni- 


270  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD. 

verse :  the  foundation  and  the  building  both  eternal. 
Were  these  facts  reversed,  he  could  present  no  motives 
to  voluntary  obedience ;  nor  act  as  the  Moral  Governor 
of  rational  beings."    (p.  210.) 

Now  from  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  unbelief,  destroying  as  it  does  all  confidence  in  the 
mind  of  the  unbeliever,  and  disposing  him  to  do  all  he 
can  to  shake  the  confidence  of  others,  strikes  directly 
at  the  centre  of  all  virtue,  and  all  happiness. 

"  The  Truth,  or  Veracity  of  God,"  says  Dr.  Dwight, 
again,  "  is  especially  that  part  of  his  moral  character, 
on  which  the  faith  or  confidence,  which  is  termed  Evan- 
gelical, ultimately  rests.  On  this  attribute  all  his  decla- 
rations, promises,  and  covenants,  entirely  depend  for 
their  truth  and  certainty ;  and  therefore  all  the  confi- 
dence, which  creatures  can  place  in  his  character,  de- 
signs, or  conduct. 

"  But  unless  we  believed  him  sincere  in  promising, 
we  could  not  believe  that  he  would  bestow  them.  Be- 
tween confidence  in  the  truth  of  God,  and  distrust  of 
his  truth,  there  is  no  alternative.  It  is  metaphysically, 
as  well  as  Scripturally,  true,  that  he,  ivho  believeth  not 
God,  hath  made  him  a  liar.  Let  me  then  ask  whether 
this  distrust  of  God,  this  attribution  to  him  of  so  odious 
and  contemptible  a  character,  this  last  insult,  can  possi- 
bly be  pleasing  to  God  1  Yet  this  is  a  fair  description 
of  all  unbelief;  or,  as  it  ought  rather  to  be  termed,  dis- 
belief, or  distrust.  As,  then,  there  is  no  medium  between 
this  character  and  confidence,  or  faith ;  it  is,  I  think* 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD.  277 

past  all  doubt,  that  faith  is  indispensably  necessary  to 
acceptance  with  God."    (pp.  211,  212.) 

This  conclusion  may  well  be  considered  "past  all 
doubt;"  for  how  can  God  accept  a  character,  that  con- 
tains within  itself  a  principle  which  hath  made  Him  a 
liar,  and  which  tends  to  destroy  the  trust  and  affection 
o^  his  whole  Intelligent  creation  1 

Why  do  we  confide  in  the  power  of  God?  Because 
it  is  the  agency  of  infinite  love.  Why  do  we  trust  in 
his  wisdom?  Because  it  is  ever  employed  to  devise 
ways  •  and  means  of  promoting  universal  happiness. 
Why  do  we  expect  the  fulfilment  of  his  promises  ?  Be- 
cause of  the  unchangeable  sincerity  of  him  whose  ve- 
racity is  pledged.  These  perfections,  as  concentrated 
in  the  Divine  Mind,  must  for  ever  be  the  object  of 
supreme  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  God's  actions 
towards  all  other  beings,  as  well  as  towards  ourselves ; 
for  a  perfect  character  must  apply  to  all  alike,  and  treat 
them  according  to  the  truth  and  reality  of  their  moral 
condition. 

If  a  mysterious  being  should  confer  favours  upon  an 
individual,  or  upon  a  limited  number  of  individuals,  for 
no  reason  that  we  know  of,  except  some  unaccountable 
pleasure  of  his  own  will,  such  favours  would  be  no  proofs 
of  character,  and  could  be  no  permanent  foundation  for 
either  faith  or  love.  If  the  favours  were  not  bestowed 
upon  principle,  there  is  no  rational  ground  to  anticipate 
their  perpetuity ;  and  if  they  were  thus  bestowed,  the 
same  principle  would  operate  with  perfect  consistency 
24 


278  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD. 

towards  all  beings,  according  to  the  reality  of  their 
moral  state,  and  their  relation  to  universal  society. 
Favours  received  from  the  influence  of  a  capricious 
partiality,  can  never  inspire  perfect  confidence,  and  can 
never  deserve  it.  A  pure  love  of  rectitude,  which  is 
necessarily  universal  in  its  application,  constitutes  the 
essence  of  a  holy  character ;  and  this  alone  sustains  the 
unceasing  happiness  of  heaven.  Could  saints  and  an- 
gels around  the  throne  of  God  believe  that  there  are 
beings  in  existence,  who  are  dealt  with  upon  different 
and  opposite  principles,  from  those  which  regulate  their 
own  destiny,  how  soon  would  their  confidence  waver, 
and  their  prospects  settle  down  under  a  portentous  and 
lowering  cloud  !  In  vain  may  promises  be  reiterated, 
in  regard  to  their  own  continued  welfare ;  for  the  entire 
value  of  promises  is  derived  from  the  veracity,  good- 
ness, and  rectitude  of  the  Promiser  ;  and  these  principles 
will  apply  with  impartiality  to  all  beings  that  are  sus- 
ceptible of  their  influence.  Will  sincerity  and  veracity 
ever  cause  a  person  to  speak  truth  to  some  individuals, 
and  falsehood  to  others  1  As  little  will  the  love  of  jus- 
tice influence  any  being  to  act  justly  towards  some 
persons,  and  unjustly  towards  others.  As  little  will  the 
principle  of  benevolence  influence  any  being  to  act 
kindly  towards  some  persons,  and  cruelly  towards 
others.  Consistency  and  impartiality  are  essential  to  a 
good  character,  without  which  an  intelligent  trust  in 
God  can  have  no  permanent  foundation. 

Of  course,  the  confidence  both  of  saints  and  angels. 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    279 

to  be  rational,  unwavering,  and  satisfying  to  the  mind, 
must  embrace  the  entire  government  of  the  Deity,  in  its 
application  to  the  whole  accountable  universe.  Every 
doctrine,  therefore,  which  would  show  a  want  of  prin- 
ciple in  the  Divine  administration  over  hell,  would  sap 
the  foundation  on  which  the  felicity  of  heaven  is  based. 
This  matter  will  come  more  particularly  under  review 
in  the  following  section. 


SECTION  IV. 

Injurious  Tendency  of  such  Views  of  the  Divine  Govern- 
ment as  are  inconsistent  with  this  Confidence  in  God. 

It  is  commonly  taken  for  granted  with  great  com- 
posure, that  so  long  as  a  man  is  a  firm  believer  in  the 
doctrine  of  eternal  punishment,  no  matter  how  absolute 
and  tremendous  he  may  represent  that  punishment  to 
be,  there  is  no  danger  of  his  doctrine  producing  a  bad 
effect  upon  mankind.  The  whole  of  the  danger,  it  is 
supposed,  is  on  the  other  side ;  while  it  is  gratuitously 
assumed,  that  the  more  awful  the  representation  is,  con- 
cerning the  future  misery  of  the  wicked,  the  more  will 
sin  be  discouraged,  and  the  more  will  all  holiness  be 
supported,  enlarged,  and  established. 

Hence  the  matter  has  often  been  unhesitatingly  ex- 
hibited, first,  that  the  punishment  of  all  the  condemned 
in  a  future  state  will  be  eternal ;  secondly,  that  it  will 


280     DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

be  without  intermission ;  thirdly,  that  it  will  continue 
constantly  increasing;  and  lastly,  that  it  will  be  as 
excruciating  and  agonizing  as  it  can  be  made  by  the 
energy  of  Almighty  Power.  In  one  word;  that  it  will 
be  infinite.  It  is  supposed  that  the  more  full  and  hor- 
rifying the  anguish  is  represented  to  be,  the  more  pure 
is  the  doctrine,  and  the  more  efficient  and  sanctifying 
will  be  its  influence  upon  the  souls  of  the  people.  That 
this  is  the  precise  view  entertained  by  thousands,  and 
which  has  been  impressed  on  their  minds  by  certain 
systems  of  theology,  will  appear  by  examining  the  prin- 
cipal arguments  by  which  the  extent  of  future  punish- 
ment has  been  commonly  supported.  These  arguments, 
which  we  have  heard  and  seen,  from  the  pulpit  and  the 
press,  are  the  following: 

First,  that  punishment  must  be  eternal,  otherwise  God 
will  not  do  all  that  he  can  to  discourage  sin.  This 
argument  assumes  that  the  only  way  for  God  to  do  his 
uttermost  against  sin,  is  to  punish  sinners  as  much  as  he 
can.  Of  course,  he  will  punish  them  for  ever,  because 
he  has  power  to  do  it ;  and  it  equally  follows,  that  he 
will  make  the  anguish  fill  their  entire  capacity,  and  will 
cause  it  to  increase  to  all  eternity  as  much  as  he  is 
able  ;  otherwise,  according  to  the  argument,  he  will  fail 
to  give  as  full  a  discouragement  to  sin  as  he  can. 

►Secondly,  we  are  told  that  sin  is  an  infinite  evil,  and 
therefore  deserves  infinite  punishment.  Now  infinite 
punishment  is  the  utmost  that  can  be  inflicted  by  the 
energy  of  Omnipotence.     Any  thing  short  of  this  would 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    281 

be  less  than  infinite.  Of  course,  if  the  irresistible 
agency  of  God  can  cause  it  to  increase,  he  will  aug- 
ment its  intensity  as  much  as  he  is  able,  through  all  the 
periods  of  an  unending  futurity ! 

Thirdly,  it  has  been  often  represented,  that  the  Bible 
doctrine  concerning  different  degrees  of  punishment  in 
a  future  state,  signifies  only  that  there  will  be  different 
degrees  of  capacity  to  suffer,  and  each  will  be  as  full 
of  misery  as  it  can  hold,  like  vessels  of  different  sizes 
cast  into  a  lake  of  water.  On  this  supposition,  if  all 
are  to  be  punished  according  to  their  works,  it  follows 
that  sin  modifies  the  capacities  of  creatures ;  and  that 
every  additional  sin  increases  the  sinner's  capacity  to 
suffer.  Consequently,  if  they  continue  to  sin  to  all  eter- 
nity, their  capacity  will  be  for  ever  increasing,  and  will 
constantly  be  kept  full  of  misery. 

Fourthly,  we  have  heard  the  argument  advanced, 
that  as  all  sin  is  ingratitude  to  infinite  love,  it  is  not 
possible  for  the  sinner  to  suffer  more  than  he  deserves. 
Now  as  every  sin  is  of  this  character,  each  sinner  de- 
serves the  full  cup  of  misery  which  the  argument 
assumes  and  rests  upon  as  its  basis ;  of  course  the 
Scripture  doctrine  concerning  different  degrees  of  pun- 
ishment, can  have  no  intelligible  signification. 

On  the  same  ground  the  consequence  will  follow, 
that  a  day  of  Judgment  would  be  useless ;  for  this  im- 
plies an  apportionment  of  punishment  according  to  the 
varieties  of  culpability ;  but  as  there  are  no  degrees  in 
24*  m* 


282    DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

infinity,  there  can  be  no  variation  in  the  penalty ;  and 
therefore  no  need  of  a  judicial  process. 

It  equally  follows  from  the  same  hypothesis,  that 
tyranny  or  injustice  towards  the  damned  would  be  im- 
possible ;  for  if  no  punishment  can  be  greater  than  they 
deserve,  of  course  were  it  possible  for  malevolence  to 
be  clothed  with  Almighty  power,  its  energy  could  not 
exceed  the  turpitude  of  any  one  condemned  sinner  in 
perdition. 

In  regard  to  the  distinction  which  we  have  observed 
in  books  of  divinity,  that  the  punishment  which  is  infi- 
nite in  duration,  is  finite  in  degree,  it  has  no  tendency 
to  clear  up  the  mystery ;  for  besides  involving  the  plain 
contradiction,  that  a  thing  can  be  finite  and  infinite  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  inconsistent  with  all  the  arguments 
by  which  the  doctrine  is  commonly  supported.  If  our 
Maker,  to  give  the  highest  discouragement  to  sin,  must 
punish  sinners  as  much  as  he  can,  his  stroke  must  be 
infinite  in  degree  as  well  as  in  duration.  If  the  capa- 
city of  each  is  as  full  of  torment  as  it  can  hold,  it  is 
not  possible  for  infinite  power  to  make  it  hold  more.  If 
the  punishment  cannot  be  greater  than  the  sinner  de- 
serves, for  his  ingratitude  to  infinite  love,  then  he  de- 
serves all  that  can  be  comprehended  within  the  bounds 
of  possibility.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  doctrine 
which  is  sustained  by  such  arguments,  is  that  of  infinite 
punishment  in  the  most  absolute  sense.  If  the  penalty 
be  really  finite,  it  may  of  course  be  modified  and  varied, 
according    to    all    the   variations   of  voluntary  guilt. 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    283 

Hence  the  reader  may  understand  distinctly,  that  the 
doctrine  which  stands  as  the  antagonist  of  the  views 
which  I  advocate,  however  it  may  conceal  itself,  is  pre- 
cisely that  of  infinite  punishment,  in  the  full  and  abso- 
lute sense  of  the  term.  If  this  be  given  up,  and  the 
doctrine  of  finite  punishment  be  acknowledged  as  the 
truth  of  God,  then  the  position  cannot  be  successfully 
controverted,  that  all  varieties  of  culpability  will  meet 
with  a  corresponding  course  of  treatment.  This  sup- 
poses the  whole  matter  to  be  superintended  by  princi- 
ple, on  the  part  of  the  great  Ruler  of  created  agents ; 
and  it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  a  benevolent  Ruler  will 
never  inflict  punishment  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the 
sake  of  promoting  good,  and  counteracting  evil;  conse- 
quently, every  possible  reason  that  can  influence  a 
righteous  Sovereign  to  apportion  his  penalties  accord- 
ing to  the  degrees  of  guilt,  at  the  time  when  sinners  are 
first  consigned  to  punishment,  will  equally  influence  him 
to  vary  his  administration,  according  as  the  degrees  of 
voluntary  guilt  shall  vary  through  the  endless  progress 
of  future  duration.  If  we  abandon  this  ground,  the 
government  of  principle  is  given  up ;  and  infinite  mise- 
ry is  held  forth  as  an  ultimate  end  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment. Now  I  seriously  ask  how  any  human  under- 
standing can  distinguish  this  from  the  most  permanent 
and  heartless  tyranny?  I  ask  how  any  soul  that  be- 
lieves it  can  look  into  eternity  without  a  horror  of  mind 
which  implies  utter  distrust  of  the  Almighty,  and  a  pain- 
ful sympathy  for  his  fellow-creatures,  who  are  supposed 


284    DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

to  be  consigned  to  a  state  of  existence,  which  could  not 
be  made  worse  by  any  force  and  energy  of  infinite  ma- 
lignity 1  To  suppose  such  a  distorted  and  dark  view 
of  the  Supreme  Being  will  either  discourage  sin  or 
operate  against  the  spread  of  Universalism,  appears  to 
me  to  be  as  baseless  and  untenable  an  hypothesis  as 
ever  entered  into  the  imagination  of  mankind.  It  silent- 
ly and  presumptuously  assumes,  that  Manicheism,  or  a 
compound  of  partiality  and  tyranny  in  the  Supreme 
Being,  is  indispensably  necessary,  both  to  avoid  the 
heresy  of  Universalism,  and  to  restrain  the  human 
family  from  sin !  According  to  this  assumption,  an 
Almighty  Tyrant  would  be  the  greatest  friend  of  holi- 
ness, and  the  most  efficient  opposer  of  sin,  of  any  Being 
that  could  possibly  exist ! 

In  short,  the  arguments  and  illustrations  above  speci- 
fied, go  to  one  conclusion :  namely,  that  all  mankind 
who  miss  of  heaven,  will  be  made  for  ever  as  miserable 
as  it  is  possible  for  Almighty  God  to  make  them. 

That  such  a  doctrine  is  calculated  to  have  an  inju- 
rious influence  upon  the  souls  of  men,  and  to  promote 
sin,  and  not  holiness,  will  appear,  if  I  mistake  not,  from 
the  following  considerations : 

1.  Its  immediate  tendency  is  to  promote  the  spread  of 
Universalism.  For  let  the  teachers  of  that  system  be 
able  to  show  the  people  that  the  view  above  stated  is 
really  that  which  is  called  the  orthodox  doctrine,  and 
according  to  the  well-known  tendencies  of  human  na- 
ture, they  can  so  exhibit  the  frightful  picture,  as  will  not 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    285 

fail  to  hurry  thousands  entirely  over  to  their  favourite 
hypothesis,  that  there  are  no  penalties  whatever  inflicted 
in  a  future  state.  Our  antagonists  are  thus  permit- 
ted to  occupy  a  fortress  which  is  invulnerable;  for 
they  have  a  magazine  of  arguments  which  have  never 
been  answered,  and  which  never  can  be  answered, 
while  Universalists  can  hold  up  their  own  doctrine  in 
bold  contrast  with  the  shocking  and  indefensible  views 
of  futurity  above  described. 

2.  The  doctrine  tends  to  the  increase  and  justification 
of  infidelity.  The  first  thought  that  occurs  to  the  mind, 
upon  surveying  the  above  hypothesis,  is  that  it  repre- 
sents God  as  a  Being  whose  immutable  disposition  is  to 
delight  in  the  agonies  of  his  creation.  Hence  the  next 
conclusion  is,  that  if  the  Bible  teaches  such  a  doctrine, 
and  is  indeed  a  revelation  from  him,  such  a  revelation 
must  be  regarded  as  a  real  calamity  to  mankind.  But 
as  there  is  no  analogy  in  nature  to  countenance  such  a 
horrible  view  of  our  Creator,  the  deist  concludes  that 
the  Bible  is  not  a  revelation  from  him. 

3.  It  tends  to  support  and  perpetuate  the  worst  and 
most  barbarous  systems  of  divinity  that  were  ever  in- 
vented. For  how  is  it  possible  to  take  any  other  view 
of  the  subject  under  consideration,  than  that,  if  it  be 
true,  there  is  something  in  the  nature  of  God  which 
causes  him  to  take  pleasure  in  seeing  anguish  and  tor- 
ment abound  through  a  vast  extent  of  his  empire  ?  And 
if  this  be  an  essential  part  of  his  disposition,  how  natural 
is  the  conclusion,  that  for  the  pleasure  of  his  own  will, 


286    DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

he  ordained  creatures  to  this  misery  from  all  eternity  ? 
Nor  would  it  be  a  very  far-fetched  inference,  that  with 
such  a  disposition,  the  misery  and  anguish  of  little  in- 
fants in  hell  might  be  surveyed  by  him  with  a  peculiar 
relish  and  delight.  O  indulgent  and  righteous  Father ! 
who  can  restrain  his  tears  at  the  thought  that  there  is  a 
necessity  to  repel  such  shocking  suppositions  from  being 
applied  to  thy  gracious  and  paternal  Mind  ! 

4.  It  produces  and  perpetuates  in  the  minds  of  sinners, 
an  obstinate  inattention  to  futurity.  The  doctrine  which 
they  so  frequently  hear  concerning  hell,  fills  their  ima- 
gination with  the  one  glaring  idea,  that  Almighty  God 
intends  to  make  use  of  the  most  effectual  means  in 
nature,  and  to  exert  the  utmost  energies  of  his  irresisti- 
ble power,  to  make  all  the  damned  as  miserable  as  pos- 
sible without  intermission  and  without  end.  Hence  a 
sullen  determination  becomes  fixed  in  their  minds,  that 
they  will  not  seriously  think  upon  the  subject.  They 
secretly  say  within  themselves — from  such  a  Being  very 
little  is  to  be  hoped ;  and  we  are  determined  that  he 
shall  not  control  our  fears.  Hence  a  kind  of  mad 
resolution  settles  down  in  their  hearts,  that  they  will 
turn  their  attention  to  other  matters,  and  dismiss  the 
subject  of  judgment  and  eternity  from  their  minds,  with 
very  little  consideration.  The  doctrine  under  review 
naturally  tends  to  produce  this  effect ;  and  therefore 
instead  of  saving  sinners,  there  is  reason  to  apprehend 
that  it  has  contributed  to  the  perdition  of  thousands. 

To  produce  conviction  in  a  man's  mind,  we  must  get 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    287 

hold  of  his  attention,  his  understanding  and  his  con- 
science. In  order  to  this,  it  must  be  proved  and  made 
manifest  to  him,  that  there  is  a  dreadful  evil  in  sin, 
which  makes  it  indispensably  necessary  for  pure  good- 
ness to  punish  the  sinner;  that  our  gracious  Creator 
really  delights  in  universal  happiness ;  that  he  has  no 
malevolence  towards  any  being  in  existence,  and  never 
will  have ;  but  that  evil  beings  must  be  arrested  by  the 
hand  of  justice,  and  bound  under  the  righteous  penalty 
of  the  Divine  law,  or  their  malignant  agency  would 
diffuse  misery  throughout  the  universe.  Such  views 
are  calculated  to  call  up  the  attention  of  the  mind  to 
the  destructive  nature  of  sin,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to 
the  amiable  character  of  our  Creator,  on  the  other ; 
and  hence  to  lead  to  a  genuine  repentance  and  reforma- 
tion. But  such  glowing  images  of  hell  and  vengeance, 
as  would  seem  to  represent  the  highest  malignity  to  be 
in  the  law  of  God,  instead  of  being  in  the  law  of  sin, 
cannot  be  expected  to  have  a  truly  reforming  operation 
upon  mankind. 

5.  The  doctrine  involves  many  serious  christians  in  a 
large  amount  of  mental  embarrassment,  whereby  they 
are  weighed  down  with  heavy  weights,  and  hindered  in 
the  way  of  life.  Whether  they  are  to  regard  their 
Creator  as  a  good  or  a  bad  Being,  or  as  a  contradictory 
compound  of  both,  they  are  afflictively  at  a  loss  to  de- 
termine. Their  children  they  look  upon  with  tears. 
For  what  father  would  not  rather  wish  that  his  chil- 
dren had  never  been  born,  than  that  he  should  have 


288     DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

incessantly  to  mourn  over  the  strong  probability  that  a 
majority  of  them,  after  a  few  short  years  of  vexation 
here,  will  be  consigned  to  a  state  of  interminable  an- 
guish, where  their  Creator  will  have  no  other  thought 
or  concern  about  them,  than  to  exert  his  omnipotence 
to  increase  their  misery  ! 

6.  The  doctrine  tends  to  iveaken  confidence  in  God, 
and  to  promote  general  unbelief,  and  therefore  to  promote 
sin,  as  the  consequence  of  unbelief  No  sophistication 
can  set  aside  the  indubitable  truth,  that  the  very  essence 
of  that  faith  which  has  a  sanctifying  influence  on  the 
human  soul,  is  confidence  in  the  character  of  God.  True 
faith  embraces  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  gift  of  the 
Father's  love ;  and  is  that  by  which  the  soul  is  drawn 
into  God,  and  is  enabled  to  overcome  the  world.  There 
is  no  distrust  or  suspicion  in  this  exercise  of  the  mind, 
which  cordially  embraces  God  in  his  parental  good- 
ness; but  let  the  above-mentioned  gloomy  orthodoxy 
come  over  the  imagination,  and  its  whole  tendency  will 
be  of  a  directly  opposite  character. 

Let  this  view  of  the  matter  be  sustained  by  the  au- 
thority of  two  distinguished  writers.  The  first  is  Dr. 
Dwight,  who  says,  "  We  cannot  obey  God,  except  from 
confidence  in  his  character,  as  a  perfectly  Wise,  Just, 
and  Good  Teacher  and  Lawgiver,  who  has  instructed 
us  in  our  true  interest ;  a  Lav/giver  who  has  prescribed 
wise,  just,  and  benevolent  precepts,  to  regulate  our  duty. 
Unless  we  consider  his  precepts  concerning  all  things  to 
be  right,  we  can  never  voluntarily  obey  them.     Confi- 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    289 

dence,  therefore,  in  the  character  of  God,  is  the  true, 
and  only  possible  source  of  that  spontaneous  obedience, 
which  is  acceptable  to  Him,  virtuous  in  us,  and  indis- 
pensable to  all  our  real  good."  (Dwight's  Theology, 
Vol.  IV.  p.  35.) 

Now  if,  without  this  confidence  in  the  Divine  charac- 
ter, "  we  cannot  obey  God,"  if  this  is  the  "  only  possible 
source  of  that  spontaneous  obedience,  which  is  acceptable 
to  Him,  virtuous  in  us,  and  indispensable  to  all  our  real 
good,"  it  clearly  follows  that  sin  is  never  discouraged, 
and  virtuous  obedience  never  produced,  by  any  other 
apprehension  of  future  punishment,  than  that  which  is 
associated  with  "  confidence  in  the  character  of  God," 
and  with  a  firm  persuasion  that  "  his  precepts  concern- 
ing all  things  are  right."  Consequently,  we  must  have 
the  full  and  abiding  impression,  that  his  law  is  as  per- 
fectly right  and  equitable  in  its  penalties,  as  in  the  obe- 
dience which  it  requires.  "  It  is  impossible,"  says  Dr. 
D  wight,  "  that  beings  should  exercise  any  of  those  affec- 
tions, with  which  alone  they  can  glorify  their  Creator, 
or  cordially  obey  him,  so  long  as  they  distrust  his  Moral 
Character.  Equally  impossible  is  it,  that  they  should 
possess  the  enjoyment  which  alone  can  fill  the  wishes, 
or  is  suited  to  the  nature,  of  an  immortal  mind."  (Vol. 
IV.  p.  37.)  Hence  it  is  plain,  that  to  fill  the  minds  of 
men  with  views  of  future  punishment  which  compel 
them  to  distrust  the  Moral  Character  of  God,  cannot 
make  them  either  virtuous  or  happy,  in  time  or  in  eter- 
nity. 

25  N 


290    DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

Our  next  authority  is  that  of  Mr.  Wesley.  He  says, 
"  Although  there  are  many  that  are  destroyed  by  pre- 
sumptidh,  there  are  still  more  that  perish  by  despair.  I 
mean,  by  want  of  hope ;  by  thinking  it  impossible  that 
they  should  escape  destruction.  They  are  fully  con- 
vinced they  cannot  save  themselves,  and  believe  God 
will  not  save  them."    (Wesley's  Works,  Vol.  VII.  p.  44.) 

Now  those  who  so  fondly  shroud  a  coming  eternity 
with  infinite  misery,  appear  to  think  there  is  no  danger 
of  souls  being  lost  "  by  despair ;"  but  that  our  only  so- 
licitude should  be  to  guard  them  against  presumption. 

What  is  despair,  but  wrant  of  confidence  in  God? 
"  They  are  fully  convinced  they  cannot  save  themselves, 
and  believe  God  will  not  save  them."  And  why  not? 
Because  they  have  been  taught  to  view  him  as  a  Being 
who  takes  pleasure  in  seeing  a  large  amount  of  misery 
abound  in  his  creation. 

Are  there  any  Arminians,  who  cause  souls  to  be  lost 
"  by  despair  V9  I  fear  this  question  must  be  answered 
in  the  affirmative :  for  although  they  do  not,  with  the 
Calvinist,  fill  a  past  eternity  with  darkness  which  ob- 
scures the  glory  of  the  Supreme  Being,  yet  many  of 
them  fill  a  future  eternity  with  a  similar  obscurity.  The 
one  says,  from  all  eternity  God  had  no  other  sentiment 
towards  a  vast  majority  of  mankind,  than  an  intention 
to  fill  them  with  infinite  misery ;  the  other  says,  that  to 
all  eternity  God  ivill  have  no  other  sentiment  towards  a 
vast  majority  of  mankind,  than  that  of  a  fixed  purpose 
to  fill  them  with  infinite  misery.     If  the  Creator  now 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    291 

hates  any  of  his  creatures,  and  has  no  regard  to  their 
well-being,  but  on  the  contrary,  has  an  immutable  dis- 
position to  make  them  as  miserable  as  possible,  the  pre- 
sumption is  very  strong,  that  an  unchangeable  Being, 
as  God  is,  always  had  the  same  disposition  towards 
them.  How  naturally  will  such  a  view  destroy  all  con- 
fidence in  God,  and  fill  the  inquiring  mind  with  "  de- 
spair ! " 

"  Unless  we  consider  his  precepts  concerning  all 
things  to  be  right,  we  can  never  voluntarily  obey  them." 
And  must  not  his  law  be  right  in  its  penalties,  as  well 
as  in  its  requirements  ?  If  the  law  demands  infinite 
penalties,  why  not  as  well  demand  infinite  obedience  1 
If  there  is  no  possibility  for  the  penalty  to  be  too  great, 
then  there  is  no  possibility  for  the  demand  of  obedience 
to  be  too  great,  even  though  it  should  be  for  men  to  cut 
themselves  with  knives  and  lancets,  in  imitation  of  the 
ancient  worshippers  of  Baal.  It  appears  to  be  supposed, 
that  when  sinners  are  once  in  hull,  Justice  has  no  limits; 
but  it  is  an  obvious  dictate  of  conscience  and  of  com- 
mon sense,  that  Justice  can  no  more  inflict  unnecessary 
punishment  in  eternity,  than  it  can  demand  unnecessary 
obedience  in  time. 

7.  The  last  objection  we  adduce  against  such  a  dis- 
mal view  of  futurity,  is  that  it  tends  to  encourage  and 
increase  the  tyranny  of  mankind,  and  thereby  to  impede 
the  progress  of  virtue  and  true  religion.  It  is  proved  by 
the  experience  of  all  ages,  that  mankind  are  disposed 
to  imitate  the  character  of  the  Being  whom  they  wor- 


292    DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

ship ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  those  who  have  been 
most  ready  to  devote  all  heathens  to  unavoidable  de- 
struction, and  to  consign  all  heretics  to  the  same  fate, 
have  been  peculiarly  fond  of  exhibiting  the  worst  kind 
of  future  punishment  that  it  is  possible  for  the  human 
mind  to  imagine. 

Mosheim,  when  treating  of  the  tenth  century,  says, 
"  The  fears  of  purgatory  were  now  carried  to  the 
greatest  height,  and  exceeded  by  far  the  terrifying  ap- 
prehensions of  infernal  torments  ;  for  they  hoped  to 
avoid  the  latter  easily,  by  dying  enriched  with  the 
prayers  of  the  clergy,  or  covered  with  the  merits  and 
mediation  of  the  saints ;  while  from  the  pains  of  purga- 
tory, there  was  no  exemption.  The  clergy  therefore 
finding  these  superstitious  terrors  admirably  adapted  to 
increase  their  authority,  and  to  promote  their  interests, 
used  every  method  to  augment  them,  and  by  the  most 
pathetic  discourses,  accompanied  by  monstrous  fables 
and  fictitious  miracles,  they  laboured  to  establish  the 
doctrine  of  purgatory  and  also  to  make  it  appear  that 
they  had  a  mighty  influence  in  that  formidable  region." 

This  quotation  from  Mosheim  may  serve  to  illustrate 
two  points  which  deserve  our  serious  attention :  first,  it 
shows  the  policy  of  tyrants  in  painting  future  punish- 
ment in  the  most  frightful  colours,  with  a  view  to  build 
up  a  temporal  dominion,  and  to  exercise  an  uncontrolled 
despotism  over  their  fellow-men.  Secondly,  we  hence 
learn  that  such  gloomy  and  dark  views  of  a  future  state, 
as  the  papal  priesthood  exhibited,  only  produce  "  super- 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    293 

stitious  terrors,"  without  any  salutary  influence  to  bring 
the  sinful  soul  to  true  repentance.  They  may  influence 
men  to  surrender,  as  the  slaves  of  ecclesiastical  power, 
but  will  not  lead  them  to  be  "  the  Lord's  free  men.''1 
The  Romish  clergy  wanted  a  tremendous  purgatory 
by  which  to  govern  the  faithful  within  their  own  bor- 
ders ;  and  a  hell  of  infinite  misery  with  which  to  inti- 
midate Heathens  and  Heretics,  and  to  frighten  them 
into  the  bosom  of  the  church. 

We  have  said  that  there  are  no  analogies  in  nature, 
to  give  the  least  countenance  to  such  awful  views  of 
futurity  as  those  above  exhibited ;  and  neither  are  there 
any  such  analogies  in  providence.  We  shall  probably 
be  referred  to  earthquakes  and  volcanoes ;  to  storms 
and  inundations  ;  to  poisons,  stings  and  death  ; — as  also 
to  war,  famine  and  pestilence.  If  God  be  so  severe 
against  sinners  in  this  world,  it  may  be  said,  how  much 
more  severe  will  he  be  in  that  which  is  to  come ! 

The  better  we  become  acquainted  with  the  nature 
and  tendency  of  the  punishments  inflicted  on  mankind 
in  the  present  world,  the  more  clear  and  satisfactory 
does  the  evidence  appear,  that  these  judgments  of  God 
are  directed  and  regulated  by  his  benevolence.  In  his 
severest  threatenings  against  nations,  as  recorded  in  the 
Old  Testament,  he  commonly  closes  by  saying,  "  They 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord."  And  is  i*  not  a  bless- 
ing for  any  people  to  know  that  he  is  the  Lord  ?  "  This 
is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee  the  only  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent." 
25* 


294    DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

When  God  inflicted  a  succession  of  signal  punish- 
ments upon  Egypt,  it  was  for  the  three-fold  purpose  of 
delivering  Israel  from  slavery,  demolishing  the  gods  of 
Egypt,  and  that  his  "  name  might  be  declared  through- 
out all  the  earth."  The  Babylonish  captivity  was 
intended  both  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  the  true  God 
among  the  Heathens,  and  to  subdue  the  spirit  of  idola- 
try in  the  people  of  Israel.  Dr.  Channing,  in  his  letter 
to  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay,  says  "  Religious  men  in  this 
community  are  peculiarly  bound  to  read  the  future  his- 
tory of  their  country,  not  in  the  flattering  promises  of 
politicians,  but  in  the  warnings  of  conscience  and  in 
the  declarations  of  God's  word.  They  know  and 
should  make  it  known,  that  nations  cannot  consolidate 
free  institutions  and  secure  a  lasting  prosperity  by  crime. 
They  know  that  retribution  awaits  communities  as  well 
as  individuals ;  and  they  should  tremble  amidst  their 
hopes,  when,  with  this  solemn  truth  on  their  minds,  they 
look  round  on  their  country.  Let  them  consider  the 
clearness  with  which  God's  will  is  now  made  known, 
and  the  signal  blessings  of  his  providence  poured  out 
on  his  people ;  and  then  let  them  consider  our  ingrati- 
tude for  his  boundless  gifts,  our  abuse  of  his  beneficence 
to  sensual  and  selfish  gratification,  our  unmeasured,  un- 
righteous love  of  gain,  our  unprincipled  party-spirit,  and 
our  faithless  and  cruel  wrongs  towards  the  Indian  race; 
and  can  they  help  fearing,  that  the  cup  of  wrath  is  filling 
for  this  people  ?"  Again,  he  says,  "  The  invasion  of 
Texas  by  our  citizens,  is  a  mournful  comment  on  our 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    295 

national  morality.  Whether  without  some  fiery  trial, 
some  signal  prostration  of  our  prosperity,  we  can  rise 
to  the  force  and  self-denial  of  free  men,  is  a  question 
not  easily  solved."  And  again :  "  I  trust,  indeed,  that 
Providence  will  beat  back  and  humble  our  cupidity  and 
ambition.  But  one  guilty  success  is  often  suffered  to  be 
crowned,  as  men  call  it,  with  greater ;  in  order  that  a 
more  awful  retribution  may  at  length  vindicate  the  jus- 
tice of  God,  and  the  rights  of  the  oppressed." 

These  quotations  are  given  to  show  that  in  the  view 
of  this  elegant  writer,  public  Judgments  of  God  are  de- 
signed as  "a  fiery  trial"  to  cause  people  "to  rise  to 
the  force  and  self-denial  of  free  men;"  to  "beat  back 
and  humble  cupidity  and  ambition  ;"  and  to  "  vindicate 
the  justice  of  God,  and  the  rights  of  the  oppressed." 
Now  if  these  and  such  like  ends  are  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  tremendous  punishments  which  are  felt  when  the 
Lord  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the  earth,  it  is  plain  that 
goodness  is  at  the  helm,  and  directs  the  vessel  through 
the  whole  process  of  the  storm. 

If  we  apply  such  analogies  of  nature  and  providence 
to  the  punishments  of  a  future  state,  they  will  indeed 
conduct  us  to  conclusions  every  way  worthy  of  the 
Being  whom  we  adore.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  same 
God  presides  over  the  destinies  of  eternity,  who  has 
been  operating  in  time;  and  that  too,  without  any 
change  of  principle  or  of  purpose.  It  will  be  seen  that, 
as  becomes  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  his  kingdom,  He 
will  through  eternity  so  conduct  his  administration,  as 


296     DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE. 

will  be  calculated  to  make  the  best  moral  impression  on 
all  created  minds,  with  a  view  to  promote  the  common 
welfare. 

But  how  different  is  this  from  the  view  too  common- 
ly taken  of  a  future  state  !  How  low  and  unworthy  of 
the  Di  vine  Mind  is  the  supposition,  that  the  winding  up, 
the  ultimatum  of  all  the  wisdom  and  counsels  of  eter- 
nity, will  be  the  establishment  of  a  comparatively  small 
heaven,  where  the  inhabitants  will  be  filled  with  some 
kind  of  a  mystical  happiness,  like  vessels  are  filled  with 
water  in  a  lake  ;  and  a  very  large  hell,  whose  groaning 
millions  will  be  filled  with  excruciating  and  augmenting 
agony,  without  intermission  and  without  end !  Is  this 
all  that  a  Being  of  infinite  goodness,  wisdom  and  power, 
is  able  to  do  to  all  eternity?  Has  he  not  wisdom  enough 
to  form  plans  which  will  be  more  extensively  beneficial 
than  this  1  If  he  has  the  ability,  and  not  the  will  to  do 
it,  must  it  not  be  either  that  the  abounding  of  sin  and 
misery  is  a  pleasure  to  his  mind,  or  that  in  his  judgment 
evil  is  better  than  good,  and  misery  better  than  happi- 
ness ?  If  we  believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  our  Maker 
delights  to  see  his  creatures  happy,  rather  than  misera- 
ble, then,  to  be  consistent,  we  must  maintain  that  his 
invariable  disposition  is  to  destroy  evil;  that  when  he 
inflicts  punishment,  it  is  to  subdue  vice  and  immorality, 
and  of  course  to  operate  against  that  which  is  the  first 
cause  of  all  the  misery  there  is  in  the  creation.  As  he 
is  "  without  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning,"  his 
Judgments  are  regulated  by  the  same  principles  in  a 


DOCTRINES  INCONSISTENT  WITH  CONFIDENCE.    297 

future  state,  that  influence  his  providential  acts  in  the 
present;  and  these  governing  principles  will  continue 
the  same  for  ever. 

The  Bible  clearly  gives  us  the  following  essential 
principles,  and  it  does  not  contradict  itself: — 1.  That 
God  is  love.     2.  That  with  him  is  no  variableness, 

NEITHER  SHADOW  OF  TURNING.  3.  That  THERE  IS  NO  RE- 
SPECT OF  PERSONS  WITH  GoD.  4.  That  HE  HATETH  NO- 
THING THAT  HE  HATH  MADE.  5.  That  HE  IS  LOVING  TO 
EVERY  MAN,  AND  HIS  TENDER  MERCY  IS  OVEP..  ALL  HIS 
WORKS.  6.  That  JUDGMENT  IS  HIS  STRANGE  WORK,  and 
that  HE  DOTH  NOT  AFFLICT  WILLINGLY,  NOR  GRIEVE  THE 
CHILDREN  OF  MEN.       7.    That    HE    DELIGHTETH    IN    KERCY, 

and  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked.     8. 

That  HE  WILL  JUDGE  THE  WORLD  IN  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  and 
RENDER  UNTO  EVERY  MAN  ACCORDING  TO  HIS  DEEDS. That 

some  shall  find  their  condition  more  tolerable  than 
others,  and  that  there  are  some  who  shall  be  beaten 

WITH  FEW  STRIPES. 

Such  is  the  orthodoxy  of  Divine  revelation ;  and  it 
gives  no  authority  to  draw  opposite  conclusions,  from 
figurative  representations  of  future  punishment ;  seeing 
the  same  figures  are  employed  in  its  sacred  pages  in 
describing  the  various  judgments  of  God  in  this  world ; 
as  the  reader  will  find  by  turning  to  the  fifth  section, 
third  part,  of  the  present  volume. 


SECTION  V. 

The  Love  of  God. — Its  Obligation  universal  and  un- 
changeable. 

Love  is  good-will,  or  a  sincere  desire  that  the  beloved 
object  may  be  happy.  It  is  gratitude  for  favours  re- 
ceived, with  a  disposition  to  make  all  possible  returns 
to  the  donor.  It  is  complacency,  or  delight  in  the  cha- 
racter, and  pleasure  in  the  society,  of  the  one  beloved. 
Towards  a  sovereign  it  is  allegiance,  which  implies 
reverence  for  his  authority,  affection  for  his  will,  and 
obedience  to  his  commandments.  Towards  God  it 
should  arise  and  increase  to  the  utmost  extent  of  devo- 
tion, worship,  and  adoration.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength.  This  is  the  first 
and  great  commandment. 

Now  it  must  be  admitted,  that  God  has  a  perfect 
right  to  demand  this  love  from  the  whole  intelligent 
creation.  This  perfect  right  must  be  founded  on  what 
he  is  in  himself,  and  what  he  is  to  them ;  that  is,  on  the 
principles  of  his  character,  and  on  their  invariable 
manifestations.  Hence  it  appears,  that  there  is  nothing 
unlovely  in  his  disposition  or  in  any  of  his  actions ; 
otherwise  it  would  follow  that  he  commands  his  crea- 

(298) 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  299 

tures  to  love  that  which  is  not  lovely.  This  first  and 
great  commandment  of  God  carries  in  itself  a  full  de- 
monstration, that  God  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  dark- 
ness at  all. 

In  vain  may  it  be  pretended,  that  he  has  a  right  to 
make  this  demand  on  the  ground  of  mere  sovereignty  ; 
for  any  claim  upon  others  to  love  an  unlovely  character, 
is  the  demand  of  a  tyrant  alone.  God,  we  say,  is  an 
infinitely  great  and  grand  Being.  True ;  because  he  is 
infinitely  good :  for  there  is  no  other  greatness  and 
grandeur  in  an  evil  being,  than  that  which  deserves 
universal  contempt.  Tyranny  and  malevolence  are 
essentially  little  and  mean ;  and  it  is  as  impossible  to 
make  them  great,  as  to  make  them  lovely.  God,  we 
say,  is  our  Creator ;  and  therefore  he  has  a  right  to  our 
utmost  love.  True ;  because  the  act  of  creation  was 
an  act  of  infinite  good-will,  and  laid  the  foundation  for 
all  subsequent  happiness.  But  were  it  possible  for  an 
evil  and  malignant  being  to  create  living  creatures,  in 
order  to  deprive  them  of  all  happiness,  and  to  make 
them  miserable  for  ever,  they  would  have  no  cause  to 
love  him ;  but  on  the  contrary  would  have  a  right  in 
perfect  justice,  to  abhor  his  character  to  all  eternity. 

A  good  character  can  be  proved  and  known  only  by 
its  manifestations ;  and  to  say  there  can  be  any  contra- 
diction between  the  disposition  and  actions  of  a  per- 
fectly good  being,  is  itself  a  contradiction :  for  it  is  to 
say,  that  either  the  disposition  or  the  action  is  good  and 
not  good,  at  the  same  time. 


300  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 

Whence  it  follows,  that  the  benevolence  of  God,  as 
manifested  by  all  his  actions,  is  entitled  to  the  supreme 
love  of  the  whole  intelligent  creation. 

Has  our  Creator  ever  done  any  thing,  and  will  he 
ever  do  any  thing,  to  forfeit  his  claim  to  universal  love? 
Never.  All  devils  and  condemned  sinners  in  perdition 
are  under  the  same  obligation  to  Jove  God  now,  that 
they  ever  were.  This  cannot  be  successfully  denied, 
unless  it  can  be  proved  that  his  treatment  of  them  has 
been  a  departure  from  his  original  character.  If  the 
Divine  conduct  towards  them  is  and  has  been  perfectly 
right,  then  if  we  say  their  obligation  to  love  him  is  di- 
minished, it  follows,  that  a  person  may  lose  his  claim 
upon  our  love  because  of  his  doing  right. 

Their  obligation  being  the  same,  if  we  say  God  is  not 
willing  that  they  should  love  him,  our  conclusion  is  that 
a  good  Being  is  not  willing  that  others  should  love  good- 
ness; —  that  a  just  Being  is  unwilling  for  others  to  dis- 
charge a  moral  obligation;  —  and  that  a  holy  Being  is 
unwilling  that  others  should  love  holiness !  The  essen- 
tial foundation  of  such  orthodoxy  is  that  God  always 
had  a  double  character,  composed  of  contrary  princi- 
ples. If  it  be  admitted  by  all,  that  with  Him  is  no  vari- 
ableness, neither  shadow  of  turning,  those  who  believe 
he  now  acts  against  the  inhabitants  of  hell  with  hatred 
and  ill-will,  are  believers  in  the  doctrine,  whether  they* 
are  aware  of  it  or  not,  that  he  hated  and  reprobated 
them  from  all  eternity.  The  view  of  future  punishment 
which  is  entertained  by  thousands  of  Arminians,  and 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  301 

the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  eternal  reprobation,  are  twin 
sisters,  that  can  never  be  put  asunder. 

If  our  Maker  punishes  the  inhabitants  of  hell  for  their 
hatred  and  injustice,  and  if  he  at  the  same  time  is  exer- 
cising hatred  and  injustice  against  them,  then  he  pun- 
ishes them  for  being  like  himself.  Whereas  the  very- 
cause  for  his  punishing  them,  is  that  they  are  unlike  and 
opposite  to  himself  Let  us  view  the  two  characters  in 
contrast. 


Character  of  God,  and  of 
Heaven. 

1.  Love. 

2.  Sincerity. 

3.  Benevolence. 

4.  Impartiality. 

5.  Justice. 

6.  Compassion. 


Character  of  the  Devil,  and 
of  Hell. 

1.  Malice. 

2.  Deceit. 

3.  Tyranny. 

4.  Partiality. 

5.  Injustice. 

6.  Cruelty. 


Now  will  any  one  suppose  that  God  assumes  and 
exercises  the  characteristics  of  the  lower  region,  with 
which  to  oppose  and  punish  its  inhabitants '(  Does  he 
not  himself  teach  us,  that  evil  is  to  be  overcome  with 
good  1  The  Divine  weapons  are  truth  and  justice :  truth 
shows  to  those  enemies  of  God  the  reality  of  their  de- 
serving all  that  they  receive  from  their  Sovereign  and 
Judge ;  and  justice  makes  them  feel  the  penalty  which 
truth  pronounces  upon  them.  Does  not  the  combined 
operation  of  truth  and  justice  tend  to  convince  them  that 
they  are  wrong,  and  that  God  is  right  1  Why  then  are 
28 


302  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 

they  not  convinced?  Because  they  use  the  weapons 
of  hell,  with  which  to  fight  against  God.  They  use 
deceit  and  partiality,  with  which  to  turn  away  truth 
from  their  understandings ;  they  use  injustice  and  false- 
hood, with  which  to  set  aside  the  rectitude  of  the  Divine 
conduct  towards  them ;  and  if  they  do  not  diffuse  the 
effects  of  their  malice  and  tyranny  through  all  heaven, 
it  is  only  because  they  have  not  the  power. 

Now  if  these  creatures  are  compelled  to  hate  God, 
who  is  it  that  compels  them  ?  If  the  operation  of  his 
truth  and  justice  upon  them  excites  their  resentment,  it 
is  plainly  because  they  hate  truth  and  justice.  Is  it  their 
Maker's  will  that  they  should  do  so  1  If  it  be,  it  is  of 
course  his  will  that  they  should  love  the  opposite  princi- 
ples of  evil.  Is  it  their  Creator's  will,  that  they  should 
hate  his  own  character  ?  If  not,  then  he  does  not  punish 
them  in  order  to  make  them  hate  him ;  nor  is  there  any 
thing  in  his  administration  which  gives  them  the  least 
excuse  for  doing  it,  or  that  takes  away  a  tittle  of  their 
obligation  to  love  him  with  all  their  heart,  and  with  all 
their  soul,  and  with  all  their  mind,  and  with  all  their 
strength. 

It  may  be  said,  however,  that  they  have  lost  all  ability 
to  love  God,  and  have  not  power  in  the  least  degree  to 
cease  from  their  hatred  against  him.  Has  the  Bible 
any  where  given  this  information  to  any  man  ?  If  not, 
from  what  source  has  any  one  become  wise  above  that 
which  is  written  ? 

They  are  under  no  other  necessity  to  hate  God,  than 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  303 

the  fixed  habit  of  their  own  will ;  that  is,  their  settled 
determination  that  they  will  hate  him.  Now  what  can 
God  do  that  is  more  directly  calculated  to  alter  this  set- 
tled determination  of  their  will,  than  to  show  them  by 
his  truth,  that  his  conduct  towards  them  is  right,  and  to 
make  them  feel  by  the  operation  of  his  justice,  that  the 
habit  of  their  will  is  utterly  wrong  1  If  this  shall  fail  to 
convince  them,  is  it  not  plainly  because  they  determine 
not  to  be  convinced  1  To  say  God  is  not  willing  they 
should  be  convinced,  is  but  to  say,  in  other  words,  that 
he  employs  his  truth  and  justice,  on  purpose  that  these 
attributes  may  not  have  their  native  effects,  but  may 
assume  the  tendency  of  opposite  principles.  It  is  to  say, 
that  when  he  employs  good  principles  to  oppose  evil,  it 
is  neither  the  design  nor  the  tendency  of  this  operation 
to  overcome  evil  with  good,  but  on  the  contrary,  to  per- 
petuate and  to  increase  the  evil!  As  well  might  wre 
turn  the  tables,  and  say  that  the  design  of  an  evil  being, 
and  the  tendency  of  his  evil  actions,  is  to  perpetuate  and 
to  increase  every  thing  that  is  right  and  good. 

But  will  not  such  reasoning  result  in  the  conclusion, 
that  at  some  future  period  in  the  great  depths  of  eter- 
nity, the  malice  of  hell  may  be  subdued,  and  both  devils 
and  wicked  men  may  cease  being  at  enmity  against 
God  ?  And  even  if  all  this  should  come  to  pass,  who 
would  feel  the  mighty  calamity  ?  Would  it  be  a  matter 
of  regret  to  the  mind  of  the  Almighty,  that  nobody  was 
found  any  longer  to  hate  him  ?  Among  all  the  traits 
of  a  good  mind,  no  one  was  ever  found  which  loves  to 


304  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 

be  hated.  Nor  is  there  any  disposition  in  the  inhabitants 
of  heaven  to  be  grieved  or  offended  to  witness  an  abate- 
ment in  the  vice  and  misery  which  have  been  so  long 
abounding  in  the  creation. 

It  may  be  said,  perhaps,  that  the  great  Sovereign  will 
for  ever  compel  the  damned  to  continue  wicked,  and 
this  will  be  a  part  of  their  punishment.  Such  a  posi- 
tion evidently  supposes  that  the  penalty  inflicted  on 
transgression  is  a  forcible  perpetuation  of  the  crime 
that  is  punished !  whence  it  would  appear  to  follow, 
that  the  sin  and  the  penalty  being  the  same,  must  origin- 
ate from  the  same  attributes.  This  leads  us  back  again 
to  the  conclusion,  that  the  Creator  reprobated  these  sin- 
ners from  all  eternity ;  for  if  he  now  establishes  sin  by 
his  decree,  he  was  originally  of  the  same  disposition, 
seeing  with  him  there  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadoio 
of  turning. 

It  may  be  urged,  also,  that  even  if  sinners  in  a  future 
state  should  surrender  to  truth  and  justice,  they  will 
nevertheless  deserve  to  be  punished  eternally  for  the 
evil  which  they  have  already  done.  This  may  be  true  ; 
and  yet  it  may  be  no  less  true  that  they  will  not  deserve 
as  great  punishment  as  they  would  if  they  should  eter- 
nally persist  in  their  rebellion.  Justice  itself  might  re- 
quire an  abatement  of  their  misery;  and  even  if  mercy 
should  do  something  in  favour  of  subdued  rebels,  the 
person  who  should  object  to  such  an  exercise  of  clem- 
ency, would  be  near  of  kin  to  His  Holiness  in  St.  Pe- 
ter's Chair.   It  may  be  for  ever  necessary  to  keep  those 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  305 

outcasts  at  a  distance  from  the  throne  of  God,  and  yet 
a  gracious  regard  may  be  had  to  their  welfare,  so  far 
as  shall  consist  with  the  interests  of  universal  society. 
The  degrees  of  punishment  may  vary,  and  the  modes 
of  treatment  be  diversified  in  ten  thousand  forms,  with- 
out necessarily  supposing  that  those  creatures  must  be 
exalted  to  the  highest  degrees  of  felicity  and  glory  en- 
joyed any  where  in  the  creation  of  God.  Though  it  be 
improper  to  elevate  them  to  the  highest  heavens,  among 
the  first-born  sons  of  light,  it  does  not  therefore  follow 
that  all  regard  to  their  well-being  must  be  for  ever 
abandoned. 

Mr.  Wesley,  in  addressing  the  reprobates,  on  the  sup- 
position of  eternal  predestination,  says,  "  There  is  no 
help  for  you  in  God.  Your  God !  No.  He  is  not  yours : 
he  never  was ;  he  never  will  be.  He  that  made  you, 
he  that  called  you  into  being,  has  no  pity  upon  you ! 
He  made  you  for  this  very  end,  to  damn  you ;  to  cast 
you  headlong  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone! 
This  was  prepared  for  you,  or  ever  the  world  began ! 
And  for  this  you  are  now  reserved  in  chains  of  dark- 
ness, till  the  decree  brings  forth ;  till,  according  to  his 
eternal,  unchangeable,  irresistible  will, 

You  groan,  you  howl,  you  writhe  in  waves  of  fire, 
And  pour  forth  blasphemies  at  his  desire  ! 

O  God,  how  long  shall  this  doctrine  stand  ?"  (Wesley's 
Works,  Vol.  X.  p.  145.) 

Again  in  his  letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hervey,  he  says, 
26  *  n  * 


306  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 

"  But  what  becomes  of  all  other  people  ?  They  must 
inevitably  perish  for  ever.  The  die  was  cast  or  ever 
they  were  in  being.     The  doctrine  to  pass  them  by,  has 

Consigned  their  unborn  souls  to  hell, 

And  damn'd  them  from  their  mother's  womb!' 

I  could  sooner  be  a  Turk,  a  Deist,  yea,  an  Atheist, 
than  I  could  believe  this.  It  is  less  absurd  to  deny  the 
very  being  of  a  God,  than  to  make  him  an  Almighty 
Tyrant."     (Wesley's  Works,  Vol.  X.  p.  201.) 

The  ground  on  which  Mr.  Wesley  believed  that  the 
system  of  predestination  made  God  "  an  Almighty  Ty- 
rant," was  its  representing  him  as  having  a  disposition 
to  delight  in  the  torment  of  his  creatures ;  from  which 
disposition,  he  is  supposed  to  have  predestinated  their 
sins,  as  the  necessary  means  of  their  eternal  misery  \ 
But  if  it  be  said  that  God  now  has  a  disposition  to  de- 
light in  the  undiminished  anguish  of  all  that  are  in  hell, 
and  hence  fixes  them  under  a  necessity  of  sinning,  by 
his  own  decree,  for  the  sake  of  perpetuating  their 
misery,  will  not  this  make  him  an  Almighty  Tyrant,  as 
much  as  the  predestinating  system  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Her- 
vey?  The  one  doctrine  is,  that  he  had  an  original  dis- 
position to  make  sinners,  in  order  to  make  them  misera- 
ble ;  the  other,  that  he  has  now  a  disposition  to  keep 
them  sinners,  in  order  to  keep  them  miserable.  If  he 
has  such  a  character  now,  he  always  had  it ;  for  I  must 
still  repeat,  ivith  him  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow 
of  turning. 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  307 

The  state  of  final  reprobation  exhibited  by  the  two 
systems,  is  precisely  the  same : — an  eternal  necessity  of 
sinning,  and  of  enduring  invariable  or  augmenting 
misery.  One  avers  that  the  decree  was  fixed  from  all 
eternity ;  the  other,  that  it  was  fixed  at  the  time  when 
the  sinner  departed  out  of  this  world.  They  both  alike 
represent  the  Almighty  as  having  no  regard  whatever  to 
the  ivell-being  of  these  miserable  creatures. 

It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  on  the  Anti-predestina- 
rian  scheme,  sinners  deserve  this  dreadful  reprobation ; 
because  during  their  life-time  they  sinned  freely,  with- 
out being  compelled  to  do  so  by  the  influence  of  any 
decree  whatever.  But  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  where 
the  proof  will  be  found,  that  they  deserve  to  be  fixed 
under  a  decree  that  will  compel  them  to  continue  sin- 
ning to  all  eternity,  as  an  essential  part  of  the  penalty 
of  the  law.  If  such  sins  deserve  punishment  in  a  future 
state,  they  equally  deserve  it  in  the  present  state ;  but 
if  so,  the  Calvinist  is  justified  in  his  conclusion,  that 
though  the  reprobate  in  this  life  sins  under  the  influence 
of  an  absolute  decree,  he  nevertheless  deserves  eternal 
punishment  for  his  crimes. 

That  voluntary,  obstinate,  and  unnecessitated  sinners, 
deserve  a  very  dreadful  punishment,  and  even  an  eter- 
nal punishment,  is  not  disputed.  But  this  is  not  the 
question.  It  is,  whether  they  deserve  to  be  punished 
writh  a  decree  that  shall  fix  on  them  the  eternal  neces- 
sity of  sinning  ?  and  whether  there  be  any  ill  desert  in 
sins  brought  about  in  this  manner  ?     If  not,  the  question 


308  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 

is,  whether  sinners  in  eternity  who  may  some  time  or 
other  "  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good."  and  ac- 
knowledge the  justice  of  God  towards  them,  will  deserve 
as  much  punishment,  as  they  would,  if  they  should  vol- 
untarily, and  without  necessity,  persevere  in  their  ma- 
lignant hostility. 

Such  inquiries  may  be  called  vain  speculations ;  but 
surely  it  is  not  a  vain  thing  to  labour  to  make  it  appear 
that  God  our  Creator  is  really  deserving  our  confidence 
and  love.  It  is  worse  than  vain  for  men  to  enjoin  silence, 
or  to  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  truth,  in  order  to 
support  and  keep  in  countenance  such  awful  misrepre- 
sentations of  the  Divine  Being  as  those  just  mentioned ; 
and  not  Mr.  Wesley  alone,  but  any  rational  man  what- 
ever, "  could  sooner  be  a  Turk,  a  Deist,  yea,  an  Athe- 
ist," than  to  embrace  a  scheme  of  doctrine  which  re- 
presents the  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh  as  "  an  Al- 
mighty Tyrant."  If  this  is  worse  than  Atheism,  as  Mr. 
Wesley  believed  it  to  be,  it  is  consequently  worse  than 
any  other  doctrine  or  heresy  that  ever  was  invented  in 
any  age  or  nation ;  and  it  is  no  less  our  duty  to  abandon 
the  concomitants  of  this  doctrine,  than  it  is  to  reject  the 
hypothesis  itself  with  which  they  are  necessarily  con- 
nected. 

The  world  has  been  taught  that  the  enmity  of  sinners 
against  God  can  never  cease,  because  an  incurable  cor- 
ruption of  will  is  fixed  in  them,  as  a  penalty  of  the  Di- 
vine law.  This  penalty  is  said  to  be  threefold : — death 
temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal;  the  whole  of  which 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  309 

was  incurred  by  Adam  in  Paradise,  and  by  all  his  pos- 
terity in  him.  "  For  them  he  was  to  stand  his  proba- 
tion, or  for  them  to  fall,  and  entail  the  penalty  of  the 
violated  law.  As  a  part  of  the  threatened  penalty,  they 
are  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  conceived  in  sin."  See  a 
late  work  entitled  "Difficulties  of  Arminian  Method- 
ism," pp.  74,  75.  This  "  iniquity"  and  "  sin"  in  which 
they  were  conceived,  it  appears,  causes  them  to  deserve 
the  second  death,  and  will  make  that  death  eternal,  by 
keeping  the  soul  under  the  bond  of  necessary  corruption. 

Now  from  this  doctrine  it  follows:  1.  That  the  pen- 
alty of  God's  law,  is  sin.  2.  That  it  is  unavoidable  sin 
—  having  been  put  into  the  souls  of  Adam's  children 
before  they  were  born.  3.  That  a  person  suffering  one 
penalty  of  law,  thereby  deserves  another  penalty.  If 
spiritual  death  is  a  crime,  which  is  one  part,  why  is  not 
temporal  death  also  a  crime,  it  being  another  part  of  the 
penalty  ?  It  would  seem,  that  sin  is  an  essential  part 
of  the  whole  judicial  process — that  Adam's  children  are 
first  guilty  of  sin  in  being  born  in  his  likeness ;  secondly, 
in  dying  a  temporal  death ;  and  thirdly,  their  suffering 
eternal  death,  the  last  part  of  the  penalty,  is  their  final 
and  finishing  crime.  If  one  portion  of  the  threefold 
curse  is  sin,  the  others  must  be  of  a  similar  character; 
and  of  course,  the  sin  and  the  penalty  being  of  the  same 
nature,  must  have  proceeded  from  the  same  kind  of 
fountain. 

Such  is  the  foundation  on  which  the  conclusion  rests, 
that  all  sinners  in  perdition  must  necessarily  continue  at 


310  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD. 

enmity  against  God  for  ever.  Their  unchangeable  cor- 
ruption is  fixed  and  settled  in  them,  as  a  penalty  of 
God's  law  !  Persons  who  believe  this,  ought  to  reflect 
a  little  on  the  following  dilemma :  those  in  a  state  of 
future  punishment  are  still  under  moral  obligation  to 
love  and  obey  God,  or  they  are  not ;  if  they  are  not,  it 
must  be  because  their  Creator  has  done  something  to 
forfeit  his  right  to  their  love  and  obedience  ;  if  they  are, 
then  it  follows,  upon  the  hypothesis  before  us,  that  God 
by  his  action,  through  the  penalty  of  his  law,  hindevs 
them  from  discharging  a  moral  obligation.  And  because 
he  does  this,  therefore  he  determines  that  their  punish- 
ment shall  be  eternal !  This  doctrine  of  necessary  sin, 
as  a  penalty  of  law,  is  an  essential  part  of  the  system 
which  was  baptized  and  confirmed  by  the  Synod  of 
Dort ;  with  that  system  it  must  stand  or  fall ;  and  with 
it  must  stand  or  fall  the  long- cherished  doctrine  of  infi- 
nite punishment. 


SECTION  VI. 

Rejoicing  in  the  Lord. — Complacency  in  his  entire 
Character  and  Government. 

Our  Saviour  says,  "  Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled: 
ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me."  (John  xiv.  1.) 
This  supposes  there  is  a  sufficiency  in  God,  as  manifest- 
ed to  the  world  in  Jesus  Christ,  when  his  character  is 
credited,  to  remove  all  trouble  from  the  human  heart. 
Again,  we  are  commanded  to  rejoice  evermore,  and  in 
every  thing  to  give  thanks ;  which  plainly  implies,  that 
all  that  God  is,  affords  cause  for  perpetual  rejoicing,  and 
all  that  he  does,  is  a  ground  for  eternal  gratitude ;  be- 
cause it  is  all  right,  and  gracious,  and  beneficial.  For 
it  is  certain  that  he  does  not  require  us  to  give  thanks 
for  any  thing  that  is  not  good,  or  to  rejoice  in  that  which 
is  evil.  The  apostle  exultingly  exclaims,  "  Rejoice  in- 
the  Lord  alway:  and  again  I  say,  Rejoice."  (Phil, 
iv.  4.) 

The  conclusion  therefore  is,  that  the  character  of  the 
Supreme  Being  constitutes  a  perfect  foundation  for  un- 
ceasing and  eternal  joy ;  and  that  there  is  nothing  in 
him,  or  in  his  dispensations,  of  a  contrary  nature  or 
tendency.  Hence  the  whole  intelligent  universe  is  under 
moral  obligation,  to  rejoice  in  the  character  of  the  Cre- 
ator, and  in  all  the  divine  operations  proceeding  from 
that  character. 

(311) 


312  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD. 

Why  are  we  glad  that  God  is  Almighty  ?  Because 
He  is  Almighty  Goodness.  Why  are  we  delighted  that 
His  understanding  is  Infinite  ?  Because  it  is  the  under- 
standing of  Infinite  Love.  Why  are  we  pleased  when 
we  hear  that  God  is  Unchangeable  ?  Because  it  brings 
to  our  view  a  Benevolence  which  will  never  vary.  And 
why  do  we  rejoice  that  he  is  Just  ?  Because  we  hence 
learn,  that  the  Energy  of  Love  will  never  cease  to 
maintain  and  defend  every  thing  that  is  right,  and  to 
oppose  every  thing  that  is  wrong. 

Let  us  look  into  this  subject,  that  we  may  correctly 
understand  the  happiness  of  heaven.  If  saints  and 
angels  should  rejoice  merely  because  they  themselves 
are  happy,  without  regard  to  the  principle  on  which 
their  happiness  rests,  and  without  any  concern  for  the 
well-being  of  others,  would  not  this  be  a  selfish  enjoy- 
ment ?  So  far  from  being  disinterested  benevolence,  it 
wrould  not  have  the  character  of  social  love;  but  on  the 
contrary  would  be  embodied  selfishness,  or  sectarian 
partiality.  Its  language  would  be,  We,  the  Faithful, 
are  saved :  no  matter  how  many  Heathens  and  Here- 
tics are  damned. 

Nothing  can  inspire  intelligent  confidence  but  good 
principle ;  and  this  is  the  same  when  condemning  the 
wicked,  that  it  is  in  justifying  the  righteous.  If  the 
saints  are  saved  in  such  a  way  that  they  know  not  why, 
by  some  unaccountable  preference  in  the  Divine  Mind 
from  all  eternity,  their  confidence  in  the  perpetuity  of 
their  own  bliss,  must  rest  on  a  divine  process  which  is 


REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.  313 

enveloped  in  impenetrable  obscurity.  How  is  it  possi- 
ble for  mystery  and  darkness  to  afford  equal  satisfaction 
and  assurance  to  intelligent  minds,  with  the  clear  light 
of  a  righteous  and  benevolent  systerruof  moral  govern- 
ment? 

The  Divine  penalties  are  fitted  in  the  most  perfect 
manner  to  beat  back  the  powers  of  evil,  to  hold  them 
in  check,  and  thereby  to  prevent  their  malignant  ra- 
vages; and  these  penalties  apply  to  each  particular 
offender,  in  exact  proportion  to  the  amount  of  his  tur- 
pitude and  hostility.  Any  change  in  the  essential  action 
of  such  a  government'  would  be  wrong,  and  would 
jeopardise  the  common  wrelfare. 

Hence  the  saints  and  angels  of  immortality  rejoice  in 
the  Lord's  vengeance ;  because  they  see  it  is  the  action 
of  a  holy  principle,  avenging  the  rights  of  innocence, 
and  defending  the  happiness  of  virtue,  throughout  the 
whole  universe. 

But  if  holy  spirits  in  heaven  have  no  such  views  as 
these — if  they  know  only  that  the  damned  are  incon- 
ceivably miserable,  and  will  remain  so  without  inter- 
mission, merely  because  such  is  the  Sovereign  will — 
then  in  being  called  upon  to  "rejoice  in  the  Lord 
always,"  they  would  be  required  to  rejoice  simply  in 
obscurities  and  mysteries.  What  a  reluctant  and  forced 
kind  of  enjoyment  this  must  be  !  They  must  be  resigned 
to  a  will  which  they  do  not  understand,  and  rejoice  in 
a  process  that  puzzles  all  the  faculties  of  their  mental 
being !  It  seems,  in  short,  that  all  their  happiness,  and 
27  o 


314  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD. 

confidence,  and  hope,  and  complacency,  must  be  based 
upon  profound  mysteries  of  darkness,  and  not  upon 
those  of  light  and  love.  Sympathy  with  the  sufferings 
of  L:hers  is  removed  from  the  minds  of  evil  beings,  in 
these  two  ways :  either  by  a  malignity  which  rejoices 
in  the  misery  of  their  fellow-creatures,  or  by  a  selfish- 
ness which  makes  them  indifferent  to  it.  Will  this  be 
the  disposition  of  heaven  1  Is  it  the  only  way  in  which 
a  painful  sympathy  can  be  removed  from  the  minds  of 
its  inhabitants? 

Inquietude  is  removed  from  virtuous  minds,  when 
they  see  their  fellow-creatures  in  misery,  by  a  clear 
conviction  that  the  punishment  is  not  cruel  or  unneces- 
sary. Suppose  a  man  is  arrested  and  convicted,  who 
has  spent  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  perpetrating  a  suc- 
cession of  robberies  and  murders :  to  put  him  to  death 
by  hanging  would  not  excite  any  painful  sympathy ; 
because  he  would  deserve  it,  and  the  public  welfare 
would  require  it ;  but  if  coals  of  fire  should  be  applied 
to  his  feet,  and  be  removed  and  applied  again  and  again, 
on  purpose  to,  keep  him  in  lingering  torment  as  long  as 
life  could  be  kept  in  him  under  such  a  process,  this 
would  be  a  painful  sight  to  every  virtuous  spectator ; 
because  it  would  be  cruel  and  unnecessary.  Or  when 
a  criminal  is  consigned  to  the  Penitentiary,  no  sympa- 
thy is  excited  by  seeing  him  deprived  of  liberty,  taken 
away  from  his  wife  and  children,  fastened  with  chains, 
or  secured  under  bolts  and  bars ;  for  this  is  all  neces- 
sary to  bind  down  the  evil,  and  to  protect  the  rights  of 


REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.  315 

unoffending  citizens ;  but  if  prisoners  in  the  Penitentiary- 
were  made  to  undergo  all  the  modes  of  torture  invented 
in  the  Romish  Inquisition,  none  but  malignant  beings 
could  rejoice  in  a  government  that  would  inflict  penal- 
ties of  this  sort,  or  any  of  a  like  cruel  character. 

Secondly,  there  must  be  a  conviction  equally  clear, 
that  punishment  in  all  instances  is  duly  proportioned  to 
the  amount  of  guilt.  When  this  is  done,  as  God  says 
it  shall  be  done  under  his  government,  it  plainly  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  principle  that  punishment  in  no  case 
shall  be  unnecessarily  severe;  for  if  no  regard  were 
had  to  this  matter,  what  need  would  there  be  for  any 
such  apportionment  1 

We  may  observe,  thirdly,  that'  in  so  far  as  a  sinner 
yields  and  '*  consents  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good,"  in 
that  proportion  the  moral  causes  for  his  punishment  are 
removed ;  if  therefore  nothing  should  ever  be  done  for 
the  relief  of  such,  it  must  be  either  because  their  Maker 
could  not  relieve  them,  or  because  he  toould  not :  and  in 
either  case,  it  would  seem  to  be  rather  a  difficult  matter 
for  the  heavenly  hosts  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord  always,  on 
account  of  his  want  of  ability,  or  want  of  will,  to  dimi- 
nish the  miseries  of  subdued  and  penitent  sinners. 

It  is  often  said  with  great  assurance,  that  there  is  no 
repentance  in  hell ;  and  it  seems  to  be  taken  for  gr:-  ited 
that  this  unqualified  maxim  is  sufficiently  authoritative, 
to  silence  all  further  inquiry.  We  have  no  evidence, 
indeed,  that  in  a  future  state  repentance  is  ever  granted 
as  a  gospel  privilege,  whereby  condemned  sinners  may 


316  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD. 

be  brought  into  the  Christian  covenant,  and  made  sons 
of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ ;  but  if  any  man  shall 
affirm  that  all  repentance  is  there  forbidden,  we  may 
justly  require  something  more  than  his  ipse  dixit,  before 
we  yield  our  assent  to  such  a  singular  proposition.  This 
is  a  favourite  hypothesis,  which,  far  from  having  any 
foundation  to  rest  upon,  presumptuously  assumes  that 
God  will  punish  his  creatures  for  being  wicked,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  unwilling  that  they  should  repent  of 
their  wickedness !  It  is  either  true  that  those  sinners 
ought  to  repent,  or  that  they  ought  not;  if  they  ought  to 
repent,  then  to  say  our  Maker  forbids  or  hinders  it,  is 
to  say  he  is  unwilling  his  creatures  should  discharge 
their  duty ;  but  if  they  ought  not  to  repent,  it  follows 
that,  some  how  or  other,  their  obligation  to  do  it  is  can- 
celled, and  it  is  consequently  right  for  them  eternally  to 
continue  in  a  state  of  impenitency. 

If  it  be  admitted,  that  God  is  willing  for  all  sinners  to 
repent,  it  must  be  equally  admitted  that  he  is  willing  for 
them  to  be  sincere  in  their  repentance ;  for  the  notion 
of  a  deceitful  repentance,  is  an  absurdity  and  a  contra- 
diction, and  will  involve  the  consequence,  that  the  Al- 
mighty Creator  really  desires,  either  that  his  creatures 
should  maintain  a  spirit  of  undeviating  "hostility  against 
him,  or  that  all  their  efforts  to  cease  from  their  rebellion, 
should  be  mere  efforts  of  hypocrisy. 

If  these  consequences  be  rejected,  as  they  will  by 
every  ingenuous  mind,  we  must  of  course  admit,  that 
in  case  any  sinners  in  a  future  state  should  sincerely 


REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.  317 

repent,  the  moral  state  of  their  minds  being  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  those  who  continue  in  a  course  of 
unyielding  malignity  against  the  character  and  govern- 
ment of  God,  the  sentiments  of  the  heavenly  hosts  to- 
wards the  former,  will  give  rise  to  a  feeling  of  sympa- 
thy, which  would  necessarily  interrupt  their  happiness, 
unless  the  Divine  administration  should  be  seen  to  make 
a  corresponding  difference  in  the  condition  of  those  sub- 
dued and  yielding  sinners.  To  see  creatures  mourning 
over  their  corruption,  abhorring  themselves  for  their 
criminality,  and  longing  to  return  to  their  allegiance,  at 
the  same  time  bound  down  by  inexorable  vengeance 
under  a  fatal  necessity  of  an  eternal  and  undiminished, 
endurance  of^pain,  would  amaze  and  puzzle  the  intelli- 
gence of  heaven,  and  make  it  morally  impossible  for 
either  saints  or  angels  to  rejoice  in  the  character  and 
government  of  the  Supreme  Being. 

That  we  ought  to  be  modest  in  our  reasonings  and 
conclusions,  when  speaking  of  the  actions  and  dispensa- 
tions of  the  great  Maker  and  Judge  of  mankind,  is 
fully  admitted  :  and  the  sacredness  of  our  obligation  to 
guard  against  presumptuous  imaginations,  is  appreciated 
and  solemnly  felt  by  the  writer ;  but  it  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered, that  presumptuous  conclusions  on  the  side  of 
vengeance  are  equally  untenable,  with  those  on  the  other 
hand,  and  are  far  more  insulting  and  reproachful  to  the 
great  Ruler  of  the  world. 

It  is  not  supposed  that  it  would  be  essential  to  the 
perfect  tranquillity  of  heaven,  for  its  inhabitants  to  have 
27* 


318  .  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD. 

a  full  knowledge  of  all  the  events  that  will  ever  occur 
under  the  Divine  government ;  but  a  clear  conviction 
of  these  three  things,  will  probably  be  essential  to  unin- 
terrupted confidence  and  peace :  First,  that  God  is  able 
to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or 
think.  Secondly,  that  He  is  immutably  disposed  to  em- 
ploy his  wisdom,  power,  goodness,  truth  and  justice,  to 
extend  holiness  and  happiness  as  far  as  created  agents 
will  consent  for  them  to  be  extended;  or  in  other  words, 
to  make  every  creature  holy  and  happy  that  is  willing 
to  be  made  so.  And  thirdly,  that  there  is  no  attribute 
in  his  nature  which  will  influence  him  ever  to  lay  a 
restraint  upon  the  will  of  any  creature,  w7ith  the  view 
of  impelling  that  creature  finally  to  choose  wrong,  or 
of  hindering  it  from  ultimately  choosing  right. 

Let  these  principles  shine  without  a.  cloud  through 
the  heavenly  regions,  and  all  will  be  quietness  and  peace. 
But  if  the  contrary  of  these,  or  of  any  one  of  them,  be 
justly  and  truly  predicated  of  the  Almighty,  I  see  not 
how  the  hosts  of  heaven  can  help  doubting  the  rectitude 
of  their  Creator,  and  fearing  that  there  is  uncertainty 
and  hazard  in  their  own  condition. 

An  essential  characteristic  of  charity,  is  that  it  "  re- 
joiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ;"  con- 
sequently, if  there  were  any  thing  inequitable  in  an 
action  of  the  divine  government,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  the  charity  of  heaven  to  rejoice  in  it.  A  holy  dispo- 
sition is  essentially  a  benevolent  one;  its  mental  delight 
must  therefore  arise  from  a  source  which  is  opposite  to 


REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.  319 

that  of  the  wicked  man,  whose  disposition  being  malev- 
olent, is  gratified  in  seeing  others  in  a  state  of  misery. 
Of  course,  the  benevolence  of  heavenly  spirits  cannot 
rejoice  in  any  action  of  the  divine  government  which 
produces  misery,  on  any  other  ground  than  a  clear 
conviction  that  it  is  purely  intended  to  restrain  evil,  to 
diminish  and  to  subdue  it,  and  invariably  to  operate  in 
favour  of  goodness  and  happiness.  The  heavenly  hosts 
must  clearly  perceive  this,  in  order  to  their  tranquillity; 
for  how  can  they  rejoice  in  the  truth,  as  the  word  of 
God  says  chanty  does,  without  having  it  made  mani- 
fest to  their  understandings,  that  truth  is  always  saluta- 
ry in  its  influence  ? 

If  we  suppose  them  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord  always,  be- 
cause the  Lord  always  employs  his  almighty  power  to 
fill  the  millions  of  the  damned  with  the  uttermost  force 
of  absolute  misery,  this  will  represent  them  as  being 
animated  with  the  disposition  which  shouted  around  the 
funeral  pile  of  dying  heretics,  as  they  groaned  and  ex- 
pired in  the  flames.  It  will  represent  them  as  having  a 
joy  that  results  from  the  great  deep  of  moral  evil  in 
their  own  souls,  and  which  triumphs  in  the  reign  of  a 
Sovereign  who  is  believed  by  them  to  be  essentially  of 
the  same  character.  As  such  a  conclusion  is  too  ab- 
surd to  be  admitted,  the  only  remaining  alternative 
appears  to  be,  that  they  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord  always, 
because  he  will  always  employ  his  power,  wisdom, 
goodness,  truth,  and  justice,  in  doing  to  all  eternity  the 


320  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD. 

very  best  that  can  be  done  for  the  welfare  of  his  whole 
intelligent  creation. 

This  conclusion  may  appear  too  bold  for  me  to  haz- 
ard, without  sustaining  it  by  authority,  as  well  as  by  argu- 
ment. I  invite  attention,  then,  to  Dr.  Dwight's  sermon, 
entitled  "  Utility  the  foundation  of  Virtue,"  in  the  third 
volume  of  his  Theology,  p.  160,  where  he  says,  "  The 
whole  tendency  of  virtue  is  to  promote  happiness ;  and 
this  is  its  only  ultimate  tendency.  It  prefers,  of  course, 
the  greater  happiness  to  the  less,  and  the  greatest,  al- 
ways, to  that  which  can  exist  in  a  subordinate  degree. 
It  diffuses  happiness  every  where,  and  to  every  being 
capable  of  receiving  it,  so  far  as  this  diffusion  is  in  its 

.  power.  In  this  respect  it  knows  no  distinction  of  family, 
country,  or  world.  To  do  good,  is  its  happiness,  as 
well  as  its  tendency.  It  will,  therefore,  never  be  inat- 
tentive;  never  discouraged,  never  disposed  to  relax  its 
efforts:' 

This  is  the  account  which  he  gives  of  the  essential 
nature  of  virtue.     But  its  essential  nature  operates  in 

,  the  Divine  Mind,  in  unchangeable  and  infinite  perfection. 
Therefore  the  Divine  Mind  "  prefers  the  greatest  hap- 
piness, always,  to  that  which  can  exist  in  a  subordinate 
degree,  —  and  diffuses  happiness  to  every  being  capable 
of  receiving  it,  so  far  as  this  diffusion  is  in  its  power" 
Consequent!}^  there  is  no  disposition  in  Deity  to  take 
away  any  creature's  capacity  for  happiness,  or  to  bind 
it  down  under  chains  of  eternal  sin,  as  the  necessary 
means  of  eternal  misery. 


REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.  321 

But  the  character  of  God,  for  which  I  am  contend- 
ing, it  may  be  said,  implies  that  He  will  allow  sinners 
to  have  a  state  of  probation,  in  a  future  world.  They 
may  never,  I  reply,  have  a  state  of  probation  in  which 
they  will  be  made  eligible  to  that  kingdom  where  "  the 
children  of  the  resurrection  are  equal  to  angels;"  and  yet 
may  peradventure  be  made  eligible  to  a  condition  some- 
what more  tolerable  than  that  of  unintermitting  and 
infinite  agony. 

But  I  must  not  venture  even  upon  a  hint  of  this  kind, 
without  also  entrenching  myself  behind  the  ramparts 
of  authority.  The  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  on  the  internal 
evidence  of  Christianity,  in  which  his  object  is  to  show 
that  reason  supports  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  says, 


to  those  who  in  the  present  life  have  been  incorrigible, 
are  to  be  limited  in  number,  or,  should  they  successively 
fail,  are  to  be  repeated  for  ever.  If  this  cannot  be  main- 
tained, is  there  sufficient  reason  to  conclude,  that  all  to 
whom  trial  after  trial  is  supposed  to  be  afforded  in  new 
and  varied  circumstances,  in  order  to  multiply  the  pro- 
babilities, so  to  speak,  of  their  final  recovery  from  re- 
bellion, will  be  at  length  reclaimed  1  Before  this  can 
be  answered,  it  must  be  recollected,  that  a  state  of  suf- 
fering which  would  compel  obedience,  if  we  should 
suppose  mere  suffering  capable  of  producing  this  effect, 
or  an  exertion  of  influence  upon  the  understanding  and 
will  which  shall  necessitate  a  definite  choice,  is  neither 


322  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD. 

of  them  to  be  assumed  as  entering  into  the  circumstances 
of  any  new  state  of  trial.  Every  such  future  trial,  to 
be  probationary  at  all,  must  substantially  be  like  the 
present,  though  its  circumstances  may  vary.  We  have 
no  right  in  this  argument  to  imagine  to  ourselves  a 
future  condition  where  the  influence  of  every  circum- 
stance will  be  to  render  vice  most  difficult  to  commit, 
and  virtue  most  difficult  to  avoid ;  for  this  would  not  be 
a  state  of  trial:  and  if  in  this  present  life,  men  have 
obstinately  resisted  all  admonitions  from  heaven,  it  is 
most  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  a  part  of  them  at  least 
would  abuse  successive  trials,  and  frustrate  their  inten- 
tion. What  then  is  to  become  of  them  1  If  probation 
be  appointed,  it  implies  accountability,  and  that  judicial 
decision,  in  the  case  of  the  incorrigible,  punishment. 
Whenever  then  the  trial,  or  the  series  of  trials,  termi- 
nates as  to  these  immortal  beings,  the  subsequent  pun- 
ishment, of  whatever  kind  it  be,  must  be  eternal  The 
eternal  duration  of  future  punishments,  as  to  the  obsti- 
nately wicked,  must  follow;  and  its  accordance  with 
the  principles  just  mentioned,  is  its  rational  evidence. 
(Theological  Institutes,  pp.  109,  110.) 

Here  it  is  plainly  supposed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Watson, 
that  a  "  series  of  trials"  may  be  granted  to  mankind  in 
a  future  world ;  and  that  the  punishment  of  none  but 
those  who  "  would  abuse  successive  trials,"  and  who 
would  continue  "obstinately  wicked,"  will  be  eternal. 
He  plainly  tells  us,  that  it  is  only  in  "  accordance  with 
the  principles  just  mentioned,"  that  the  Scripture  doc- 


REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.  323 

trine  of  eternal  punishment  can  be  supported  by  "  ra- 
tional evidence." — It  being  a  clear  principle  of  reason, 
that  if  God  can  enlarge  happiness,  and  diminish  misery, 
by  "  future  successive  trials,"  he  has  a  right  to  do  so, 
and  is  not  lacking  in  a  sufficiently  benevolent  disposi- 
tion. 

It  might  be  reasonably  supposed,  indeed,  if  this  life 
were  the  only  probation  for  happiness  that  any  sinners 
are  to  have  to  eternity,  that  they  would  be  placed  nearer 
upon  an  equality,  both  as  to  the  advantages  of  their  pro- 
bation, and  the  time  of  its  continuance,  than  they  are 
in  the  present  world.  In  the  time  of  a  flood,  an  earth- 
quake, the  discharge  of  a  volcano,  or  a  hurricane  at 
sea,  many  little  sinners  of  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  years 
of  age,  are  hurried  into  eternity  without  a  moment's 
warning.  Shall  their  juvenile  probation  of  three  or 
four  years,  stand  against  that  of  an  old  hardened  rebel 
of  four  score  1  Because  the  boy  of  ten  years  old  has 
suddenly  died  in  his  sins,  is  there  some  dire  necessity  in 
nature  and  in  fate,  that  his  probation  for  happiness  must 
be  cut  off  to  all  eternity  1  Has  the  Almighty  no  right 
to  give  him  another  trial,  in  any  period  of  infinite  dura- 
tion ?  or  has  he  no  power  to  do  it  ?  If  he  has  the  right, 
and  the  power,  and  the  privilege,  and  the  will  to  do  it, 
who  will  presume  to  put  his  negative  upon  our  Creator's 
high  and  supreme  dominion  1 

I  am  not  authorised,  however,  to  enter  into  the  de- 
tails of  eternity ;  or  to  adopt  any  definite  and  particular 
conclusions  in  regard  to  the  successive  events  of  futuri- 


324  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

ty.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know,  that  God  is  the  great- 
est, and  wisest,  and  most  benevolent  Being,  that  ever 
did  or  can  exist :  and  that  his  ways  will  be  found  to  be 
as  much  above  our  ways,  and  his  thoughts  above  our 
thoughts,  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth. 


SECTION  VII. 

Objections  considered. 


Obj.  1.  "  The  doctrine  of  future  punishment  is  found- 
ed on  the  authority  of  the  Bible  ;  therefore  all  modifi- 
cations of  the  subject,  by  subtle  reasonings,  are  unwar- 
rantable, and  are  but  so  many  forms  of  infidelity." 

Tn  replying  to  this  objection  we  must  admit,  first,  that 
the  threatenings  contained  in  the  Bible,  are  indeed  very 
alarming ;  and  secondly,  that  we  are  bound  to  submit 
to  this  authority  in  full,  and  not  in  part  only.  But  we 
are  to  "search  the  Scriptures,  comparing  spiritual  things 
with  spiritual,"  and  to  draw  our  conclusions  according- 
ly ;  which  is  a  direct  process  of  reasoning.  To  affirm 
that  the  Scriptures  teach  any  thing  which  is  contrary 
to  reason,  is  but  to  say,  in  other  words,  that  the  Bible 
is  an  unreasonable  book;  and  that  men  must  do  vio- 
lence to  their  rational  faculties,  in  order  to  be  Chris- 
tians. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  325 

It  is  a  first  principle  of  reason,  that  both  sides  of  a 
direct  contradiction  cannot  be  true  ;  the  Bible  does  not 
require  of  us  to  surrender  this  principle ;  it  therefore 
allows  us  to  reject  any  doctrine  which  would  make  our 
Creator  contradict  himself. 

Figurative  language  is  not  to  be  so  taken,  as  to  con- 
tradict clearly  revealed  doctrines ;  it  is  a  clear  doctrine 
of  revelation  that  God  is  love,  and  that  he  hateth  no- 
thing  that  he  hath  made ;  therefore  any  views  of  future 
punishment  which  suppose  him  to  act  upon  the  princi- 
ple of  malevolence,  are  evidently  delusive.  Any  doc- 
trine which  necessarily  supposes  him  to  have  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  and  to  be  unwilling  for  any 
of  his  creatures  to  do  right,  is  as  unscriptural  as  it  is 
unreasonable.  It  is  a  clear  doctrine  of  revelation,  that 
God  icill  judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  and  that  there 
shall  be  exactly  the  same  degrees  in  punishment,  that 
there  are  in  moral  turpitude  ;  therefore  any  tenet  which 
is  irreconcilable  with  this  doctrine,  has  no  foundation 
in  the  holy  Scriptures.  Mr.  Saurin,  speaking  of  degrees 
of  punishment,  says,  "  I  have  often  observed  with  aston- 
ishment the  little  use,  that  Christians  in  general  make 
of  this  article,  since  the  doctrine  itself  is  taught  in 
Scripture  in  the  clearest  manner.  When  we  speak  of 
future  punishment,  we  call  it  all  hell  indifferently,  and 
without  distinction.  We  conceive  of  all  the  wicked  as 
precipitated  into  the  same  gulph,  loaded  with  the  same 
chains,  devoured  by  the  same  worm.  We  do  not  seem 
to  think,  there  will  be  as  much  difference  in  their  state 
28 


326  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

as  there  had  been  in  their  natural  capacities,  their  exte- 
rior means  of  obtaining  knowledge,  and  their  various 
aids  to  assist  them  in  the  pursuit  of  it.  To  how  many 
difficulties  have  men  submitted  by  not  attending  to  this 
doctrine  of  degrees  of  punishment !  —  Above  all,  the 
doctrine  of  degrees  of  punishment  elucidates  that  of 
the  eternity  of  them.  Take  this  principle,  which  Scrip- 
ture establishes  in  the  clearest  manner  ;  press  home  all 
its  consequences  ;  extend  it  as  far  as  it  can  be  carried  ; 
give  scope  even  to  your  imagination,  till  the  punish- 
ments which  such  and  such  persons  sutler  in  hell  are 
reduced  to  a  degree,  that  may  serve  to  solve  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  doctrine  of  their  eternity."  (Saurin's  Ser- 
mon on  Hell.)  v 

This  great  man  owned,  as  every  intelligent,  and  can- 
did man  will  own,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  eternity  of 
future  punishment  has  a  "difficulty"  attending  it,  which 
makes  us  feel  the  necessity  of  some  clear  principle  with 
which  to  "  solve"  it.  The  doctrine  of  degrees  of  pun- 
ishment is  one  principle  of  this  kind.  The  benevolent 
rectitude  of  the  divine  government,  which  never  hin- 
ders creatures  from  repenting  and  doing  right,  and 
which  never  punishes  them  unnecessarily,  is  another. 

Particular  passages  of  Scripture,  indeed,  taken  un- 
connected with  the  general  theme  of  the  Bible,  would 
seem  to  support  all  that  is  contended  for  in  regard  to 
the  infinity  of  future  punishment ;  but  the  doctrine  of 
eternal  reprobation  can  be  proved  in  the  same  way,  and 
with  the  same  success.     Esau  was  hated,  and  Jacob 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  327 

loved,  before  they  were  born.  The  Lord  hardened 
Pharaoh's  heart,  and  raised  him  up  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  forth  his  power  in  his  destruction.  Therefore 
hath  he  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  whom 
he  will  he  hardeneth.  These  and  several  other  extracts, 
taken  by  themselves,  with  no  regard  to  the  connection 
in  which  they  stand,  or  to  the  theme  on  which  the  in- 
spired writers  were  discoursing,  or  to  the  first  princi- 
ples of  revealed  religion,  will  as  fully  prove  the  doctrine 
of  absolute  reprobation,  as  any  passages  in  the  Bible 
will  prove  the  infinity  of  eternal  punishment.  Indeed, 
the  patrons  of  the  former  doctrine  are  commonly  the 
firmest  advocates  of  the  latter ;  and  in  this  they  are 
consistent ;  for  the  two  systems  run  into  one,  and  main- 
tain the  unity  of  the  divine  character:  namely,  that  from 
eternity  to  eternity  God  has  no  other  regard  to  a  vast 
proportion  of  his  creatures,  than  to  employ  his  almighty 
energy  in  filling  them  with  infinite  misery.  If  this  be 
his  disposition  through  a  future  eternity,  it  is  no  difficult 
matter  to  believe  he  was  the  same  through  a  past 
eternity ;  and  if  I  mistake  not,  the  same  mode  of  argu- 
ment that  would  lead  to  the  one  conclusion,  will  equally 
support  the  other  also. 

Obj.  2.  "  Heaven  and  hell  are  an  even  contrast :  as 
the  one  is  eternal  happiness,  so  the  other  is  eternal 
misery ;  as  the  one  is  infinite,  so  is  the  other ;  if  one 
may  end,  or  be  limited,  modified  or  diminished,  so  may 
the  other  also:   therefore  all  attempts  to  disprove  the 


328  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

infinity  of  hell  torments,  are  treason  against  heavenly 
happiness." 

Ans.  This  objection  supposes  that  happiness  is  found- 
ed on  misery,  and  depends  upon  it  for  its  perpetuity,  and 
for  all  its  modifications.  If  this  be  true,  it  will  follow, 
that  had  sin  never  been  introduced  by  angels  or  men, 
the  Almighty  would  have  been  compelled  to  make  a 
portion  of  them  miserable,  in  order  to  make  the  others 
happy.  If  sin  only  could  introduce  misery,  and  if  misery 
was  necessary  to  happiness,  then  sin  was  essential  to 
happiness,  by  producing  misery  as  its  only  foundation. 
The  truth  of  the  matter  is  far  otherwise.  All  that  sin 
ever  did,  or  could  do,  was  to  destroy  happiness  and  to 
produce  misery.  All  that  God  has  done  in  relation  to 
the  matter,  and  all  that  he  ever  will  do,  is  to  use  the 
best  means  to  restrain  sinners,  to  reform  them,  or  to 
punish  them  when  they  refuse  to  be  reformed,  so  far  as 
shall  be  necessary  to  hinder  them  from  destroying  the 
good  which  they  otherwise  would  destroy. 

That  hell  will  not  be  as  full  of  misery  as  heaven  is  of 
happiness,  may  be  proved  by  the  two  following  plain 
and  clear  arguments : 

First,  the  Bible  says  God  delighteth  in  mercy,  and  that 
judgment  is  his  strange  work ;  consequently,  he  is  im- 
mutably more  disposed  to  communicate  happiness  than 
to  inflict  punishment,  the  former  being  much  more  plea- 
sant than  the  latter  to  every  benevolent  mind. 

Secondly,  heavenly  happiness  is  the  gift  of  free  grace. 
"Benevolence   is  more  than  justice,  injustice  is  less;" 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  329 

therefore  it  is  right  to  bestow  more  happiness  on  the 
inhabitants  of  heaven  than  they  deserve ;  but  to  inflict 
more  punishment  on  the  inhabitants  of  hell  than  they 
deserve,  would  be  wrong.  Penal  sufferings  may  be 
made  less  than  the  culprit  deserves,  by  an  act  of  mercy, 
provided  no  injury  be  thereby  done  to  others ;  but  they 
cannot  be  made  greater,  without  a  plain  violation  of  the 
clear  principles  of  justice  and  equity. 

Obj.  3.  "  Men  are  influenced  to  modify  and  lower 
down  the  common  view  of  future  punishment  by  a  secret 
love  of  sin.  They  indulge  some  secret  vice  which  they 
are  unwilling  to  relinquish ;  and  hence  their  desire  to 
establish  moderate  anticipations  of  future  misery,  in  their 
own  defence." 

•  Ans.  That  there  is  a  great  propensity  in  our  nature 
to  invent  excuses  for  our  sins,  and  to  remove  restraints 
from  our  indulgencies,  must  be  admitted ;  but  the  above 
objection  is  based  upon  a  false  assumption.  It  assumes 
that  a  good  man,  who  has  no  longer  any  love  of  sin, 
will  have  no  concern  about  future  misery,  however  tre- 
mendous it  may  be  supposed  to  be,  because  of  his  own 
individual  security  from  the  danger ;  which  supposes  a 
holy  Christian  to  be  one  of  the  most  selfish  beings  in  ex- 
istence. Will  he  have  no  concern  for  the  honour  and 
glory  of  his  Creator's  character  ?  Will  he  have  no  con- 
cern about  his  neighbours,  his  parents,  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  his  wife  and  children,  provided  his  own  dear 
self  shall  be  secure  from  the  danger  1  Should  a  Chris- 
tian find  evidence  to  support  a  strong  probable  conclu- 
28*  o* 


330  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

sion,  that  there  will  be  a  less  amount  of  misery  through 
a  coming  eternity  than  he  had  apprehended,  will  he  be 
grieved  at  the  discovery,  and  feel  unwilling  to  give  such 
evidence  a.  candid  consideration?  To  answer  in  the 
affirmative,  is  manifestly  to  suppose  that  benevolence  is 
not  an  essential  attribute  of  the  Christian  character. 

Besides :  there  are  more  ways  of  gratifying  a  selfish 
principle,  than  removing  restraints  from  our  sensuality. 
Sectarian  partiality  and  the  desire  for  ecclesiastical  do- 
minion, are  equally  selfish,  and  equally  strong ;  and  if  I 
mistake  not,  these  last  have  generated  the  desire  to  fill 
the  world  with  frightful  images  of  a  tremendous  hell, 
more  than  all  other  causes  put  together.  This  is  the 
precise  reason  why  the  different  degrees  of  punishment 
in  a  future  state,  and  all  other  considerations  of  this 
sort,  have  been  so  commonly  left  out  of  sight.  Mr. 
Saurin  need  not  to  "  have  often  observed  with  astonish- 
ment the  little  use,  that  Christians  in  general  make  of 
this  article,  since  the  doctrine  itself  is  taught  in  Scrip- 
ture in  the  clearest  manner."  This  fact  is  easily  ac- 
counted for,  and  the  mystery  easily  solved,  by  the  gene- 
ral desire  to  hold  forth  a  most  terrifying  image  of  hell, 
with  which  to  lengthen  the  cords,  and  strengthen  the 
stakes,  of  sectarian  influence  and  ecclesiastical  power. 
Take  from  them  this  engine,  or  weaken  its  influence 
over  vulgar  minds,  and  they  will  become  as  eloquent 
against  heresy,  as  was  Demetrius  the  silversmith  in  the 
days  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

Obj.  4.  "  Attempts  to  modify  future  punishments,  or 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  331 

to  conceive  any  kind  of  limits  to  them,  is  to  question 
the  sovereignty  of  God  ;  which  is  a  high  presumption  in 
any  man,  and  a  direct  insult  to  Divine  Majesty." 

Ans.  Sovereignty  is  supreme  governing  authority. 
God  has  sovereign  authority  to  rule  the  universe,  ac- 
cording to  the  perfect  principles  of  his  wisdom,  good- 
ness and  justice.  This  government  of  wisdom,  good- 
ness and  justice,  I  have  been  contending  for  through- 
out ;  therefore  I  have  been  uniformly  maintaining  the 
Divine  Sovereignty. 

Again :  the  claim  of  authority  to  govern  in  opposition 
to  the  principles  of  wisdom,  goodness  and  justice,  con- 
stitutes the  sovereignty  of  a  tyrant ;  but  God  is  not  a 
tyrant ;  therefore  I  have  said  nothing  against  the  sove- 
reignty of  God. 

Obj.  5.  "  To  lower  down,  in  any  way,  the  tremendous 
penalty  of  the  law,  is  to  depreciate  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion, and  consequently,  to  degrade  the  Divine  Saviour 
of  the  world.  If  we  are  exposed  to  none  other  than  a 
little  hell,  we  need  only  a  little  Redeemer" 

Ans.  Without  entering  into  legal  questions  on  this 
subject,  I  will  simply  state,  what  few  if  any  will  ven- 
ture to  deny,  that  a  full  and  perfect  redemption  procures 
for  sinners  as  much  favour  and  mercy,  as  can  consist 
with  the  common  welfare  of  the  creation.  To  say  it 
should  procure  more  than  this,  would  represent  it  as  pro- 
moting injustice,  by  inflicting  injury  upon  the  creation; 
and  to  say  it  should  procure  less,  would  be  manifestly 
depreciating  the  efficacy  and  value  of  redemption,  and 


332  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

consequently,  degrading  the  Redeemer.  Has  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  procured  as  much  favour  for  sinners,  as  I 
have  supposed?  If  he  has,  what  Redeemer  could  do 
more  ?  If  he  has  not,  then  it  appears  to  follow,  that  we 
needed  a  greater  Redeemer  than  he,  one  that  could  do 
more  for  the  promotion  of  happiness,  than  he  has  been 
able  to  do.  If  the  objector  shall  affirm  that  the  Saviour 
did  not  do  as  much  for  sinners  as  I  have  stated,  he  falls 
directly  upon  the  point  of  his  own  objection,  by  sup- 
posing the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  too  little  a  Redeemer 
to  do  all  that  was  necessary  to  be  done  for  the  intelli- 
gent universe.  Is  it  not  desirable  to  have  as  much 
favour  and  mercy  extended  to  sinners  as  will  accord 
with  the  common  welfare  ?  A  negative  answer  will 
involve  the  consequence,  that  happiness  is  not  so  desi- 
rable as  misery.  Will  a  man  say  we  degrade  the  Re- 
deemer, by  believing  that  he  did  all  that  could  be  done, 
for  the  general  happiness  ?  And  that  he  exalts  the  Re- 
deemer, by  affirming  that  he  did  less  for  the  general 
happiness,  than  might  have  been  done?  Such  logic 
needs  an  extraordinary  kind  of  an  expounder,  to  make 
it  in  any  degree  intelligible. 

Some  appear  to  think  the  greatness  of  the  atonement 
consisted,  not  in  what  it  actually  has  done,  and  will  do, 
in  delivering  sinners  from  their  sin  and  misery;  but  in 
what  it  is  capable  of  doing.  It  has  merit  enough,  we 
are  told,  to  do  wonders ;  but  this  merit  was  not  intended 
to  be  applied,  except  to  a  very  limited  extent.  But  wc 
must  be  permitted  to  ask,  would  the  God  and  Father 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  333 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  devise  a  plan  whereby  his 
well-beloved  Son  should  endure  excruciating  agonies, 
to  procure  a  large  fund  of  merit  that  was  never  to  be 
applied,  and  of  course  never  to  be  of  any  use  1  The 
prophet  Isaiah  was  taught,  that  "  He  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied."  I  imagine 
nothing  less  would  satisfy  the  benevolent  Redeemer, 
than  to  see  as  much  done  in  behalf  of  sinners,  as  can 
consist  with  the  common  welfare  of  the  creation. 

If  "  Redemption  was  creation  more  sublime,"  as  Dr. 
Young  says,  we  may  well  suppose  its  influence  extends 
over  the  wThole  creation ;  and  that  too,  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  as  much  grace  and  mercy  for  sinners,  as 
can  be  made  to  consist  with  the  common  welfare.  Does 
any  theologian  wish  it  to  be  more  limited  than  this,  in 
order  that  redemption,  by  accomplishing  less,  may  exalt 
and  magnify  the  Redeemer  more  ?  If  so,  I  must  confess 
my  utter  inability  to  comprehend  the  nature  and  mys- 
tery of  his  system. 

Obj.  6.  "  All  doctrines  of  future  punishment,  except 
that  which  teaches  its  infinity,  tend  to  lower  our  appre- 
hensions of  the  great  evil  and  turpitude  of  sin  ;  and  con- 
sequently to  promote  sin,  and  to  operate  against  true 
repentance  and  reformation." 

Ans.  Sin  is  truly  an  enormous  evil,  and  the  doctrine 
which  I  advocate  is  that  alone  which  proves  it  to  be 
such.  First,  it  is  so  great  an  evil,  that  it  produces  misery 
and  that  only.    Were  it  necessary,  directly  or  indirectly, 


334  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

to  the  support  of  happiness,  it  would  not  be  so  great  an 
evil  as  it  is  on  the  ground  for  which  I  contend. 

Secondly,  it  is  a  great  and  an  unmixed  evil,  because  it 
is  entirely  unnecessary  to  the  display  of  the  Divine 
glory,  or  to  any  other  useful  or  honourable  purpose. 
Had  it  been  decreed  or  predestinated  by  our  Creator, 
it  would  hence  appear  that  there  is  something  valuable 
in  it,  and  that  it  is  not  so  great  an  evil  as  I  suppose  it 
to  be. 

Thirdly,  it  is  a  great  evil,  because  that,  in  principle, 
it  is  opposed  to  the  whole  character  of  God.  The  in- 
ternal characteristics  of  sin  are  deceit,  selfishness,  ma- 
levolence, cruelty.  All  these  are  totally  contrary  to  what 
God  is ;  and  of  course  sin  is  a  greater  evil  than  it  would 
be,  if  it  had  any  likeness  to  him. 

Fourthly,  it  is  a  great  evil,  because  it  is  at  war  with 
God :  it  is  enmity  against  him.  Now  the  more  perfectly 
good,  and  true,  and  just,  and  merciful,  we  conceive  our 
Heavenly  Father  to  be,  the  greater  is  the  evil  which 
wars  against  him.  Were  he  a  compound  of  contrary 
attributes,  sin  against  him  would  be  only  half  so  great 
ah  evil  as  it  now  is.  Being  at  enmity  with  the  God  of 
love,  it  is  at  war  with  the  fountain  of  all  happiness,  which 
implies  malignity  against  the  well-being  of  universal 
society. 

Fifthly,  sin  is  an  enormous  evil,  because  it  is  an  ob- 
stinate and  persevering  rebellion  against  a  forbearance, 
pity,  and  compassion,  which  is  reluctant  to  punish  the 
sinner  —  against  that  bleeding  Jove  which  pleads  for  his 
soul  —  and   against   that  righteous  Father,  who  in  his 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  335 

sovereign  administration  never  will  exercise  any  kind 
or  deo-ree  of  rigour,  beyond  the  strict  necessitv  of  the 
case.  Were  he  a  different  kind  of  ruler,  more  unrelent- 
ing and  severe,  sin  against  him  would  not  be  so  great 
an  evil  as  it  is. 

Finally,  sin  is  an  enormous  evil,  because  it  is  com- 
mitted against  the  authority  of  God,  and  because  he  does 
not  will  its  continuance.  If  he  did  not  will  its  continu- 
ance in  time,  but  does  will  its  continuance  in  eternity, 
is  it  because  the  dreadful  evil  has  changed  its  character, 
and  become  partly  a  good  thing  1  Does  he  not  hate  it 
as  much  now  as  he  ever  did  ?  If  he  does,  we  may  justly 
conclude  that  he  operates  as  constantly  as  ever  against 
its  diffusion  and  its  perpetuity. 

Obj.  7.  "  All  such  subtle  reasonings  about  future  pun- 
ishment are  vain  speculations;  and  it  would  be  much 
more  becoming  to  employ  our  time  in  examining  how 
we  may  escape  hell,  than  how  our  arguments  may  seem 
to  diminish  its  horrors." 

Ans.  This  wmole  investigation  tends  to  show  us  how 
we  may  escape  hell,  which  evidently  is  by  exercising 
confidence  in  the  character  of  God,  and  by  constantly 
imbibing  and  imitating  that  character.  If,  by  neglect- 
ing such  inquiries  and  reflections,  we  suffer  our  minds 
to  settle  down  in  confused  and  false  views  of  our 
Maker's  disposition,  these  consequences  will  follow: 
First,  our  confidence  in  him  will  be  wavering  and  un- 
settled ;  secondly,  suspicions  against  him  will  arise  in 
our  minds,  and  we  shall  mentally  impeach  his  charac- 
ter ;  thirdly,  by  viewing  him  as  being  only  in  part  excel- 


336  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

lent,  we  shall  imitate  him  only  in  part;  or  fourthly,  by 
following  him  fully,  while  we  believe  him  to  be  partial, 
rigorous  and  implacable,  we  shall,  cultivate  these  dis- 
positions in  ourselves,  in  imitation  of  him. 

Now  in  one  or  more  of  these  ways,  incorrect  views 
of  the  character  of  God  will  have  a  corrupting  and  per- 
nicious influence  upon  the  human  spirit.  Is  this  the 
way  to  prepare  for  future  happiness  ?  Most  certainly 
it  is  not.  How  then  can  those  be  justly  called  vain 
speculations,  which  are  directly  calculated  to  guard  us 
against  such  injurious  influences,  and  to  cause  us  to 
imbibe  others  which  will  draw  us  into  the  love  of  God, 
and  into  holy  longings  of  heart  to  be  partakers  of  his 
Divine  nature  1  I  view  the  doctrine  which  is  advocated 
in  these  pages  as  being  the  most  interesting  and  practi- 
cal that  was  ever  contemplated  by  the  mind  of  man. 
On  it  depends  all  faith,  all  hope,  all  reverence,  all  love, 
and  all  obedience.  And  these  weighty  considerations 
ought  not  to  be  disregarded  under  pretence  that  the 
simple  fear  of  hell  is  to  accomplish  every  thing. 

Obj.  8.  "  We  must  take  man  as  he  is,  and  not  as  he 
may  be  represented  by  theoretical  speculators ;  and  let 
philosophers  and  metaphysicians  say  what  they  can,_it 
is  a  fact  that  the  race  of  Adam  will  not  be  restrained 
from  sin,  except  by  the  most  powerful  counteracting 
influences :  deep  diseases  require  strong  remedies ;  and 
no  matter  by  what  mode  of  reasoning  we  weaken  the 
terrors  of  the  law,  the  consequence  will  be,  an  increase 
of  vice  and  immorality." 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  337 

Ans.  That  human  nature,  in  its  fallen  state,  has  in  it 
an  immense  amount  of  absurdity,  cannot  indeed  be 
denied.  We  are  compelled  into  the  humiliating  con- 
clusion, that  fallen  man  is  emphatically  a  fool ;  but  the 
present  objection  supposes  he  must  be  saved  as  a  fool  ; 
whereas  the  Bible  tells  us  he  is  to  be  saved  by  becoming 
wise  unto  salvation. 

The  process  must  be  begun,  however,  while  man  is 
in  his  foolish  state ;  and  how  can  this  be  done,  except 
by  the  simple  force  of  fear  ?  This  simple  force,  it  is 
true,  may  often  make  the  first  impression,  which,  being 
followed  by  other  impressive  considerations,  will  even- 
tuate in  full  salvation ;  but  those  subsequent  influences 
being  essential  to  the  ultimate  result,  the  motive  of  fear 
must  not  be  made  so  strong  as  to  undermine  the  truths 
on  which  all  other  motives  depend ;  for  if  so,  the  final 
accomplishment  of  the  object  will  be  prevented.  The 
sinner  will  be  alarmed  and  terrified,  but  what  will  this 
avail,  if  he  should  not  be  saved  ?  And  cannot  the  sin- 
ner's mind  be  sufficiently  alarmed,  without  such  a  repre- 
sentation as  will  leave  no  distinction  between  goodness 
and  malignity? 

Mr.  Saurin  says,  "  If,  instead  of  a  punishment  endur- 
ing for  ever,  hell  were  only  the  suffering  of  a  thousand 
years'  torments,  were  the  sufferer  during  these  thousand 
years  only  placed  in  the  condition  of  a  man  excruciated 
with  the  gout  or  the  stone ;  must  not  a  man  give  up  all 
claim  to  common  sense,  before  he  could,  even  on  these 
suppositions,  abandon  himself  to  sin  ?  Are  not  all  the 
29  p 


338  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

charms  employed  by  the  devil  to  allure  us  to  sin  absorbed 
in  the  idea  of  a  thousand  years'  pain,  to  which,  for 
argument's  sake,  we  have  supposed  eternal  punishment 
reduced?  How  pitiable  is  a  man  in  dying  agonies,  who 
has  nothing  to  oppose  against  the  terrors  of  death  but 
this  opinion  !  Perhaps  hell  may  be  less  in  degree,  and 
shorter  in  duration  than  the  scriptures  represent !"  (Sau- 
rin's  sermon  on  hell.) 

How  plain  is  it,  according  to  Mr.  Saurin's  illustra- 
tions, that  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment  itself  is 
not  essential  to  the  true  motive  of  fear,  on  any  human 
mind,  except  the  mind  of  a  simpleton  who  is  compelled 
to  "  give  up  all  claim  to  common  sense  !"  This  he 
must  do,  as  Mr.  Saurin  thought,  "  before  he  could  aban- 
don himself  to  sin,"  under  the  prospect  of  "  only  the 
sufferings  of  a  thousand  years."  Then  if  we  could 
prevail  on  mankind  to  exercise  "  common  sense,"  the 
duration  of  future  punishment  might  itself  be  limited, 
without  any  danger  to  the  morals  of  society ;  and  of 
course  its  intensity  need  not  be  extravagantly  magnified, 
for  the  mere  purpose  of  filling  a  weak  imagination  with 
terror  and  dismay. 

The  conclusion  is,  in  short,  that  the  only  ground  on 
which  the  great  necessity  of  perpetuating  the  doctrine 
of  infinite  punishment  can  be  sustained,  is  that  mankind 
through  life  can  only  be  governed  as  irrational  beings, 
who  "  must  give  up  all  claim  to  common  sense."  It 
seems,  too,  that  they  will  continue  to  be  the  same  silly 
creatures  to   all  eternity ;  for  it  is  represented  that  it 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  339 

will  be  necessary  to  continue  the  same  hell  of  undimin- 
ished misery  for  ever,  to  keep  the  inhabitants  of  heaven 
themselves  from  apostatizing,  and  running  away  from 
the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  their  souls  !  If  such 
dogmas  as  these  be  not  "  vain  speculations,"  and  worse 
than  vain,  I  have  mistaken  the  nature  of  moral  princi- 
ples, and  of  the  necessary  qualifications  to  become  good 
subjects  of  our  Creator's  heavenly  government. 

Human  nature  is  a  great  deep  ;  and  is  very  acute  in 
turning  away  the  force  of  motives,  however  influential 
they  may  appear  to  be.  The  objection  before  us  gra- . 
tuitously  assumes  that  when  men  are  firm  believers  in 
the  doctrine  of  infinite  punishment,  this  faith  will  of 
course  restrain  them  from  sin ;  but  facts  have  too  abun- 
dantly contradicted  this  theory,  to  allow  it  to  have  any 
weight  with  reflecting  minds.  Men  who  heartily  be- 
lieve this  doctrine,  and  especially  those  who  are  fond 
of  it,  commonly  take  for  granted  with  great  assurance, 
that  they  themselves  will  certainly  be  of  the  number 
who  will  be  saved  from  this  tremendous  punishment. 
Hence  it  has  little  or  no  influence  upon  their  fears,  but 
excites  and  gratifies  other  and  very  different  passions 
of  the  heart.  The  pleasure  they  will  have  in  viewing 
the  immense  contrast  between  their  future  condition  and 
that  of  outcast  reprobates  in  hell ;  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  their  enemies  and  antagonists,  and  especially 
heretics,  receive  a  full  cup  of  torment  for  their  opposi- 
tion to  them  and  to  the  creed  of  their  party ; — these 
and  such  like  anticipations  may  possibly  find  admittance, 


340  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

sometimes,  in  "  that  hideous  sight,  a  naked  human 
heart."  How  it  is  possible  for  the  soul  of  man  to  have 
a  fondness  for  such  a  doctrine,  (which  is  proved  by  a 
great  eagerness  in  its  defence)  except  by  some  such 
secret  influences,  is  perfectly  incomprehensible. 

The  grounds  on  which  men  can  presume  upon  their 
own  security  from  a  future  hell,  without  being  restrained 
from  sin,  are  various.  They  may  either  persuade  them- 
selves that  they  have  been  elected  to  inadmissible  sal- 
vation from  everlasting;  or  that  they  belong  to  so  pure 
a  church,  that  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  any  of  its 
members  will  be  finally  cast  off;  or  that  God  being  the 
protector  of  orthodoxy,  will  never  condemn  any  that 
are  so  sound  in  the  faith  as  they  are ;  or  that,  finally, 
their  strict  attendance  upon  gospel  ordinances  and 
church  ceremonies  will  be  a  certain  passport  to  future 
blessedness  and  salvation.  In  these  several  ways  have 
men  amused  themselves  with  anticipations  of  endless 
felicity ;  and  the  favourite  article  of  their  creed,  con- 
cerning the  inconceivable  misery  of  reprobates,  has  had 
little  or  no  restraining  influence  upon  their  internal  cha- 
racter, or  upon  their  external  actions. 

It  is  fully  admitted,  however,  that  the  terror  of  the 
Lord  ought  to  be  exhibited  to  mankind,  in  as  strong 
colours  as  the  Scriptures  will  justify;  it  is  admitted 
also,  that  an  exhibition  of  this  righteous  vengeance  has 
often  had  the  chief  influence  in  awakening  the  slumber- 
ing souls  of  sinners  ;  but  the  matter  here  contended  for, 
is  that  after  sinners  are  awakened,  the  character  of  the 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  341 

Supreme  Being  must  be  carefully  explained  to  them,  or 
they  will  stop  short  of  becoming  his  obedient  children 
and  voluntary  servants.  When  they  learn  that  the 
whole  administration  of  their  Maker  is,  and  ever  will 
be,  regulated  by  the  pure  principles  of  holiness  and 
goodness,  they  will  understand,  that  nothing  else  than  a 
persevering  conformity  to  these  principles  can  secure 
to  them  the  blessing  and  complacency  of  such  a  Divine 
Ruler.  But  when  men  are  constrained  through  simple 
fear,  to  flee  from  a  kind  of  future  punishment  that  is 
unaccountable,  and  not  regulated  by  any  known  attri- 
bute of  moral  character,  they  will  naturally  embrace  a 
plan  of  salvation  that  is  equally  unaccountable,  and 
w7hich  elevates  persons  to  heavenly  happiness  in  some 
way  that  is  separate  from,  or  independent  of,  all  intelli- 
gible rules  and  principles  of  a  sentimental  administra- 
tion. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Objections  considered. 


Obj.  1.  "  Let  any  man  survey  the  death-bed  of  the 
wicked,  and  then  doubt,  if  he  can,  the  infinity  of  hell 
torments.  If  the  horrors  of  Voltaire,  Paine,  Altamont, 
and  others,  were  such  on  this  side  hell,  that  their  pre- 
sence was  hardly  to  be  endured  by  their  friends,  what 
must  hell  itself  be  V9 
29* 


342  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

Ans.  That  hell  is  dreadful  beyond  expression,  and 
especially  to  sinners  who  have  spent  a  long  life  in  dif- 
fusing the  poison  of  sin  through  society,  and  sapping  the 
moral  foundation  of  nations,  is  an  awful  reality,  proved 
by  all  kinds  of  evidence  that  can  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  subject.  But  it  is  an  easy  thing  for  the  imagi- 
nation to  leap  into  conclusions  that  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  premises.  Because  Voltaire,  whose  malignity 
through  a  long  life  appeared  to  be  directed  immediately 
at  the  character,  and  life,  and  divinity  of  the  Son  of 
God,  was  filled  with  intolerable  anguish  on  a  dying  bed, 
does  it  therefore  follow  that  all  sinners  in  a  future  state 
will,  through  all  the  faculties  of  soul  and  body,  be  filled 
with  torment  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  possibility? 
Does  it  therefore  follow,  that  their  misery  will  continue 
invariable  or  increasing,  through  an  endless  futurity  ? 
As  to  Voltaire  himself,  and  Paine,  and  Judas,  and  any 
other  reprobate  that  ever  died  in  his  sins,  no  man  can 
know  with  certainty  what  will  be  the  details  of  their 
eternal  history.  Suppose,  after  suffering  tribulation  and 
anguish  through  as  many  millions  of  ages  as  there  are 
grains  of  sand  on  the  sea  shore,  the  soul  of  the  most 
hardened  atheist  should  be  so  subdued,  that  there  might 
be  some  abatement  of  his  misery  without  any  injury  to 
the  moral  universe,  can  any  man  prove  that  God  has 
no  right,  or  no  power,  or  no  will,  to  have  any  regard  to 
the  well-being  of  that  creature  1  Thoughtless  thousands 
will  perhaps  be  ready  to  exclaim,  if  we  suppose  incon- 
ceivable anguish  may  be  extended  through  as  many 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  343 

millions  of  ages  as  there  are  grains  of  sand  upon  the 
sea  shore,  we  might  as  well  extend  it  through  eternity 
at  once.  But  if  we  should  multiply  these  millions  of 
ages  by  the  number  of  drops  of  water  in  the  ocean,  and 
multiply  that  sum  by  the  number  of  leaves  and  blades 
of  grass  that  have  existed  since  the  creation  of  the 
world,  what  would  all  this  be,  to  a  duration  that  can 
never  end?  We  are  only  supposing,  that  through  this 
amazing  futurity  something  may  be  done  to  diminish 
the  agony  of  the  miserable  damned,  rather  than  to  ima- 
gine they  will  suffer  a  perpetuity  and  an  increase  of 
horror  while  eternity  endures.  And,  gracious  heaven? 
has  ecclesiastical  power  decided  that  a  supposition  of 
this  kind  cannot  be  entertained  without  dreadful  heresy? 
What  a  singular  transformation  must  scholastic  theology 
produce  in  the  sensibilities  of  the  heart,  that  it  should 
cause  human  creatures  to  struggle  in  defence  of  this 
tremendous  doctrine,  as  a  man  would  labour  for  the  life 
of  his  first-born ! 

Obj.  2.  "  A  secret  ground  of  all  these  efforts  to  di- 
minish the  horror  of  hell  torments,  is  the  infidel  disposi- 
tion that  refuses  to  believe  in  mysteries." 

Ans.  A  refusal  to  believe  mysteries  is  impossible.  To 
believe  in  God,  is  a  mystery ;  to  believe  there  is  no  God, 
is  a  greater  mystery  still.  Is  the  atheist  therefore  an 
orthodox  divine,  merely  because  he  consents  to  believe 
mysteries?  Certain  men  called  Free-thinkers  have 
imagined,  or  professed,  that  they  have  escaped  from  all 
mysteries,  and  that  they  now  believe  such  things  only 


344  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

as  they  can  clearly  comprehend ;  but  it  is  because  they 
are  almost  no-thinkers,  that  they  have  arrived  at  such 
a  stupid  and  false  conclusion.  Dr.  Young,  when  speak- 
ing of  God  and  his  works,  said  wkh  great  propriety, 

.     "  The  more  of  wonderful 
Is  heard  of  Him,  the  more  we  should  assent. 
Could  we  conceive  Him,  God  he  could  not  be ; 
Or  He  not  God,  or  we  could  not  be  men. 
A  God  alone  can  comprehend  a  God ; 
Man's  distance  how  immense !     On  such  a  theme, 
Know  this,  Lorenzo !  (seem  it  ne'er  so  strange) 
Nothing  can  satisfy,  but  what  confounds ; 
Nothing,  but  what  astonishes,  is  true." 

But  let  not  the  indubitable  truth  be  overlooked,  that 
the  necessity  we  are  under  to  believe  mysteries,  involves 
no  necessity,  and  no  obligation,  to  believe  contradictions. 
To  say  bitter  waters  can  flow  from  a  sweet  fountain,  or 
that  malevolent  action  can  proceed  from  a  Being  of  pure 
love,  is  not  barely  a  mystery,  but  an  absurdity,  and  an 
insult  to  God  and  the  human  understanding. 

How  long  has  tne  moral  world  been  kept  in  darkness 
and  perplexity,  by  having  all  manner  of  delusions  and 
contradictions  covered  over  with  the  veil  of  mystery! 
We  have  been  required  to  believe,  and  to  silence  every 
hope  of  the  contrary,  that  the  God  of  love,  by  an  abso- 
lute decree,  reprobated  from  everlasting  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  human  family,  and  decreed  to  fix  them  in 
eternal  misery,  for  his  oxen  glory !  We  are  required  to 
believe  at  the  same  time,  that  though  God  decreed  their 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  345 

every  action,  yet  he  is  not  the  author  of  sin ;  that  the 
reprobates  are  to  take  the  whole  blame  upon  them- 
selves, and  to  own  that  they  deserve  this  punishment 
for  being  the  subjects  of  the  Almighty's  divine  and  irre- 
sistible predestination ;  and  that  if  any  of  them  shall  pre- 
sume to  doubt  it,  this  will  but  serve  to  make  their  perdi- 
tion the  more  dreadful,  because  of  its  being  a  heresy, 
and  a  refusal  to  believe  mysteries ! 

Now  what  is  the  main  ground-work  of  this  gloomy 
and  irrational  system  of  doctrine  ?  It  is,  that  the  Crea- 
tor, from  eternity,  had  no  other  sentiment  towards  re- 
probates, than  a  disposition  to  make  them  for  ever  mise- 
rable. 

The  doctrine  under  review  is  founded  upon  the  same 
identical  assumption,  with  this  difference  only,  that  it 
removes  the  scene  to  a  future  eternity.  It  supposes  that 
God  has  not,  and  never  will  have,  any  regard  to  the 
well-being  of  those  in  hell ;  but  on  the  contrary,  has  an 
immutable  disposition  to  do  nothing  else  than  to  per- 
petuate the  full  cup  of  their  everlasting  sorrow. 

If  the  veil  of  mystery  can  justify  this  hypothesis,  it 
will  be  found  broad  enough  to  cover  the  whole  system 
of  free  wrath  and  eternal  reprobation. 

Obj.  3.  "  The  idea  of  reforming  the  damned,  and 
mitigating  their  pain,  represents  all  future  punishment 
as  being  nothing  else  than  a  universal  purgatory." 

Ans.  The  doctrine  of  purgatory,  when  taken  in  con- 
nexion with  the  design  of  its  invention,  truly  deserves 
the  abhorrence  of  all  Christendom ;  which  is,  that  pol- 


346  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

luted  souls  shall  be  cast  into  a  certain  fire  in  a  future 
state,  that  by  some  chemical  operation  will  gradually 
purify  them,  and  fit  them  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
into  which  they  shall  be  received;  after  the  removal  of 
all  corruption  from  their  souls,  by  this  purifying  pro- 
cess. The  duration  of  this  punishment,  it  is  said,  may 
be  shortened  by  the  prayers  of  the  clergy,  provided  the 
friends  and  relatives  of  the  deceased  will  pay  them  mo- 
ney enough  to  compensate  them  for  these  prayers. 
Now  the  design  of  this  invention  evidently  was,  to 
enrich  the  clergy,  and  to  establish  and  perpetuate  eccle- 
siastical dominion.  Their  invention  of  a  hell  of  abso- 
lute and  boundless  misery  was  a  part  of  the  same  cle- 
rical policy.  By  this  latter  doctrine  they  hoped  to 
frighten  heathens  and  heretics  into  the  bosom  of  the 
church,  out  of  whose  pale  there  is  no  salvation  ;  by  the 
former,  they  could  control  them  after  being  brought 
into  the  church;  and  thus  a  fair  prospect  presented 
itself,  of  gradually  subduing  the  whole  world  under 
their  despotic  sway,  and  securing  for  themselves  a  tem- 
poral dominion,  affording  every  kind  of  gratification  to 
the  corrupt  propensities  of  the  human  heart.  Surely 
this  was  the  master-piece,  and  the  most  potent  engine 
that  ever  was  devised  by  the  profoundest  policy  of  hell. 
All  anticipations  of  future  punishment  were  so  shaped 
and  moulded,  as  to  build  up  an  earthly  kingdom,  in 
which  the  love  of  power,  of  case,  of  wealth,  of  venera- 
tion, and  of  pleasure,  should  be  gratified  to  the  full ! 
Did  those   men  really  believe  in  the  truth  of  man's 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  347 

responsibility  for  eternity  1  No ;  a  secret  infidelity  was 
evidently  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  contrivance. 

The  doctrine  advanced  in  these  pages  has  no  resem- 
blance whatever  to  this  system.  The  views  which  are 
here  exhibited,  alike  discard  the  purgatory  and  the  hell 
which  were  so  fondly  diffused  through  the  nations,  dur- 
ing the  dark  ages  of  Christendom.  It  is  here  contended, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  punishment  has  no  mechanical  or 
chemical  tendency  to  purify  the  soul ;  and  on  the  other, 
that  Divine  penalties  are  never  inflicted  with  the  design 
to  rivet  sin  in  the  soul,  and  to  perpetuate  its  malignity. 

That  punishment  is  inflicted  to  convince  the  sinner  of 
his  criminality,  and  to  discourage  the  continued  per- 
petration of  his  crimes,  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  doc- 
trine of  these  pages;  but  if  this  doctrine  involve  the 
notion  of  a  purgatory,  the  objector  will  find  himself 
driven  into  the  same  heresy ;  for  he  believes  that  in  the 
present  world  God  inflicts  judgments  on  the  wicked  to 
convince  them  of  the  evil  of  their  ways,  and  to  discour- 
age them  in  the  practice  of  sin.  According  to  the 
objection  before  us,  when  God  said  to  Adam,  "  cursed 
is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ;  thorns  and  thistles  shall  it 
bring  forth  unto  thee,"  &c.  he  then  and  there  established 
a  universal  purgatory  over  the  earth,  which  he  has 
maintained  to  the  present  hour.  But  if  this  kind  of 
administration  in  the  present  world  is  not  a  purgatory, 
then  the  allegation  is  equally  futile,  when  applied  to  a 
similar  kind  of  process,  in  any  period  of  future  dura- 
tion. 


348  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

The  objection  assumes  a  worse  doctrine  than  the  one 
which  it  opposes :  namely,  that  God  will  hereafter  bind 
down  all  reprobates,  and  fix  in  their  souls  a  fatal  neces- 
sity of  remaining  full  of  sin,  in  order  that  they  may 
remain  full  of  misery ;  which  representation  of  the 
matter  is  far  more  reproachful  to  heaven,  and  injurious 
to  earth,  than  the  popish  doctrine  of  purgatory  itself. 
Therefore  if  intelligent  creatures  were  reduced  to  the 
unavoidable  alternative  of  adopting  one  or  the  other  of 
these  opinions,  all  the  dictates  of  their  rationality  and 
common  sense  would  influence  them  to  adopt  the  latter, 
in  preference  to  the  former.  But  they  are  under  no 
necessity  of  choosing  either  ;  for  the  truth  of  God  con- 
cerning a  future  state  appears  evidently  to  stand  at  an 
equal  distance  from  both  of  those  theological  delusions. 

Obj.  4.  "  Universal  salvation  is  true,  or  it  is  not ;  if 
it  is,  honesty  requires  that  it  be  openly  advanced  ;  if  it 
is  not,  then  eternal  punishment  ought  to  be  proclaimed 
without  any  equivocation :  To  what  purpose  is  all  this 
laboured  argument  to  conduct  the  reader  to  an  indefi- 
nite conclusion  —  that  we  know  not  what  God  will  do 
with  the  wicked  in  a  future  state  ?  Is  it  not  a  singular 
way  of  distinguishing  truth  from  falsehood,  to  tell  the 
world  that  we  know  not  what  the  truth  is  V 

Ans.  God  is  really  a  good  Being,  or  he  is  not ;  if  he 
is,  it  ought  to  be  consistently  maintained ;  if  he  is  not, 
honesty  requires  that  we  unequivocally  announce  it  as 
an  article  of  our  creed,  that  malevolence  will  be  his 
invariable  principle  of  action  towards  the  reprobated 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  349 

part  of  his  creation.  Our  arguments  in  the  present  trea- 
tise, conduct  the  reader  to  these  definite  conclusions — 
that  "  the  Lord  is  good ;"  that  "  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  will  do  right;" — that  he  will  treat  the  wicked 
"  according  to  their  works ;"  that  "  God  cannot  be 
tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man;"  and 
that  "  Surely  God  will  not  do  wickedly,  neither  will  the 
Almighty  pervert  judgment."  (Job  xxxiv.  12.)  How 
much  better  is  it  to  have  these  great  truths  definitely 
established,  than  to  leave  them  all  unsettled,  and  to  sap 
the  foundation  on  which  they  rest,  for  the  sake  of  main- 
taining that  God  will  perpetuate  sin  by  his  immutable 
decree,  as  the  necessary  ground  of  endless  misery ! 

Our  views  are  perfectly  definite,  in  regard  to  our 
Creator's  principles  of  action,  and  in  regard  to  his  un- 
changeable disposition  to  carry  out  those  principles, 
without  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning.  It  is  much 
more  desirable  to  have  these  essential  truths  perma- 
nently established,  than  it  is  to  leave  them  on  the  floating 
waves  of  uncertainty,  for  the  sake  of  assuming  that  we 
know  the  exact  results  of  the  Divine  government  on  all 
the  free  agents  that  will  exist  through  future  duration. 

If  the  agency  of  the  wicked  will  be  perpetuated  for 
ever,  we  cannot  certainly  know  what  variations  will 
take  place  in  their  character  and  condition,  because  we 
know  not  how  they  will  ultimately  exercise  their  re- 
sponsible powers.  The  present  objection  would  apply 
with  all  its  force  to  God's  treatment  of  nations  in  the 
present  world:  for  although  we  know  definitely  that 
30 


350  OBJECTIONS  COiNSIDERED. 

God  will  treat  them  according  to  their  works,  yet  what 
that  treatment  will  be  we  know  not,  because  we  are 
necessarily  ignorant  of  the  manner  in  which  they  will 
conduct  themselves.  We  are  willing  to  confess  that 
"  we  know  not  what  the  truth  is,"  in  regard  to  the  ac- 
tual results  of  the  Almighty's  administration  in  a  future 
world.  Our  minds  should  cheerfully  consent  to  be  igno- 
rant of  these  secret  things  which  belong  to  the  Lord  our 
God,  so  long  as  we  can  rejoice  in  the  brilliancy  of  the 
great  truth  revealed  to  us  and  to  our  children,  that  God 
is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  To  abandon 
this  glorious  Sun  and  Shield,  for  the  purpose  of  support- 
ing the  man-made  orthodoxy  of  invariable  punishment, 
is  a  sacrifice  too  great  for  any  human  soul  to  make, 
that  can  realize  the  immense  importance  of  rightly 
knowing  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he 
hath  sent. 

Let  opponents  prove,  if  they  are  able,  that  condemned 
sinners  are  eternally  destitute  of  all  degrees  of  agency. 
If  they  cannot  prove  this,  then  it  is  evident,  whatever 
they  may  pretend,  that  they  "  know  not  what  the  truth 
is"  concerning  this  matter. 

Agency  appears  evidently  to  be  an  essential  constitu- 
ent of  a  mental  being ;  and  if  I  mistake  not,  it  can  as 
soon  be  proved  that  the  damned  are  deprived  of  all 
intelligence,  as  that  they  are  destitute  of  every  degree 
of  agency. 

We  may  justly  require  of  the  advocates  of  invaria- 
ble or  accumulating  misery,  to  prove,  if  they  are  able, 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  351 

that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  or  an  angel  to  lose  his 
agency,  without  at  the  same  time  losing  his  intelligence, 
and  becoming  absolutely  insane.  If  they  admit  that 
the  inhabitants  of  hell  are  still  agents,  we  call  upon 
them  to  prove,  if  they  are  able,  that  their  agency  is 
eternally  forced  into  one  invariable  course  of  action. 
If  they  cannot  prove  this,  how  do  they  know  what  will 
be  the  precise  course  of  action  which  will  be  pursued 
by  the  millions  of  fallen  spirits  in  a  future  state  ?  And 
if  they  do  not  know  this,  how  can  they  be  certain  that 
they  foresee  the  exact  mode  of  treatment  that  all  fallen 
creatures  will  receive  from  that  Almighty  Sovereign, 
whose  indubitable  right  it  is  to  reign?  Is  God  bound 
to  explain  to  us  all  the  secrets  of  his  empire,  and  to 
make  known  all  that  he  knows  himself  concerning  the 
arrangements  of  his  government  throughout  all  future 
ages  1  If  not,  why  should  presumptuous  man  be  unwill- 
ing to  own,  that  peradventure  he  "  knows  not  what  the 
truth  is,"  in  regard  to  many  of  the  unexplored  scenes 
of  a  boundless  and  infinite  hereafter. 

Obj.  5.  "  The  spotless  holiness  of  God,  or,  which  is 
the  same  thing,  his  infinite  hatred  of  sin,  will  influence 
him  to  punish  sin  to  the  uttermost ;  and  human  corrup- 
tion is  the  sole  ground  of  man's  objections  to  this  seve- 
rity. Were  we  holy  as  God  is  holy,  we  should  say 
amen  to  the  whole  force  and  energy  of  his  sacred  ven- 
geance." 

Aks.  Holiness  is  the  unmixed  and  unsullied  perfection 
of  all  moral  attributes.     God  is  love ;  therefore  love  is 


352  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

holiness ;  and  God's  hatred  of  sin  is  precisely  his  infi- 
nite abhorrence  of  all  malice  and  cruelty.  These  con- 
stitute the  essential  character  of  sin ;  and  God  abhors 
them,  because  they  are  the  opposite  of  every  principle 
and  sentiment  of  his  own  lovely  and  eternal  Mind. 
His  unchangeable  hatred  of  these  characteristics  of  sin, 
is  itself  the  ground  of  an  indubitable  demonstration,  that 
He  will  never  imbibe  them,  or  carry  them  into  any  part 
of  his  own  course  of  judicial  action. 

Infinite  hatred  of  sin  implies  that  its  principle,  and  its 
results,  are  equally  and  for  ever  abhorred.  The  essence 
of  sin  is  malice,  or  a  disposition  to  produce  and  perpe- 
tuate misery,  as  an  ultimate  end.  Now  if  God  abhors 
this  principle,  it  is  because  of  his  aversion  to  its  ten- 
dency and  its  results ;  that  is,  because  of  his  infinite 
unwillingness  that  misery  should  be  produced  or  perpe- 
tuated for  its  own  sake,  as  an  ultimate  end  of  voluntary 
action.  To  say  God's  holiness  causes  him  to  hate  this 
vile  spirit,  and  yet  that  His  holiness  will  influence  him 
to  perpetuate  absolute  misery  as  an  ultimate  end  of  his 
own  action,  is  as  direct  a  contradiction  as  human  lan- 
guage can  supply.  The  native  and  final  result  of  sin  is 
misery,  and  nothing  else ;  the  action  of  holiness  is  oppo- 
site to  that  of  sin ;  therefore  the  tendency  of  the  latter 
is  to  produce  happiness;  and  it  never  inflicts  punish- 
ment, but  in  order  to  counteract  sin,  and  consequently 
to  operate  against  ultimate  and  final  misery.  To  say 
the  action  of  sin,  and  that  of  holiness,  both  alike  termi- 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  353 

nate  in  simple  and  permanent  misery,  is  to  say  they  are 
essentially  the  same  in  their  nature  and  tendency. 

Why  does  God  hate  sin,  but  because  of  his  aversion 
to  the  fruit  of  this  bitter  tree,  which  is  misery  and  that 
only?  His  hatred  of  moral  evil  arises  from  his  love  to  him- 
self, and  to  his  whole  intelligent  creation,  against  whose 
happiness  it  wages  a  malevolent  and  an  eternal  war. 

A  holy  Being  delights  in  holiness ;  and  of  course,  is 
disposed  to  promote  holiness  as  effectually  and  univer- 
sally as  it  can  be  promoted :  consequently,  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel  never  will  do  any  thing  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  holiness  in  any  region  of  the  universe,  vtfhere  moral 
agents  are  willing  it  should  prevail.  He  will  never  do 
any  thing  to  hinder  any  of  his  creatures  from  repenting 
of  their  sin,  and  becoming  holy ;  for  this  is  what  the 
devil  has  been  doing  ever  since  sin  entered  into  the 
world.  To  affirm  that  our  Creator  wrill  pursue  this 
course  in  a  future  state,  is  to  suppose  the  most  holy 
Being,  and  the  most  unholy  one,  will  manifest  them- 
selves alike,  both  in  purpose  and  in  operation. 

God's  aversion  to  sin  is  not  an  infinite  hatred  of  sin- 
ners; otherwise  no  sinner  had  ever  been  forgiven.  To 
say  he  abhors  their  wicked  character,  and  that  he  is  at 
the  same  time  unwilling  for  them  to  turn  from  their 
wickedness,  is  another  gratuitous  and  manifest  contra- 
diction, on  which  the  system  of  inexorable  vengeance 
hangs. 

Hence  it  is  clear,  that  holiness  in  God's  children  does 
30*  p* 


354  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

not  cause  them  to  hate  sinners,  in  any  other  sense,  than 
having  an  abhorrence  of  their  evil  character.  They 
love  their  persons,  as  fellow-creatures;  and  therefore 
they  do  all  they  can  to  prevail  on  them  to  forsake  their 
sin,  and  to  seek  after  holiness.  Is  not  their  Heavenly 
Father  of  the  same  disposition?  Will  he  not  ever  re- 
main the  same  1  If  a  change  shall  take  place  in  his 
mind  hereafter,  it  will  seem  necessary  that  a  change 
should  also  take  place  in  the  minds  of  his  people ;  that 
in  a  future  state  they  may  hate  sinners,  and  no  longer 
have  a  desire  that  holiness  should  be  extended  through 
intelligent  society.  Has  any  man  ever  learned  this  kind 
of  orthodoxy  from  the  Bible  1  If  any  people  imagine 
that  true  holiness  causes  them  to  love  the  doctrine  of 
infinite  sin  and  misery,  as  brought  about  by  the  judicial 
vengeance  of  the  Almighty,  they  are  very  much  mis- 
taken ;  and  they  need  a  rebuke  from  Jesus,  such  as  the 
disciples  received,  when  they  requested  that  they  might 
have  power  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  the 
Samaritans  : — Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are 
of.  A  fondness  for  this  system  of  wrath  arises  from  a 
source  very  different  from  that  of  holiness ;  and  it  would 
be  well  for  men,  not  only  to  inquire  into  the  foundation 
of  their  opinions,  but  also  to  scrutinize  the  cause  of  their 
attachment  to  those  views  of  future  misery,  which  are 
so  reproachful  to  God,  and  so  revolting  to  the  feelings 
of  justice  and  humanity. 

Obj.  6.  "All  modified  and  moderated  views  of  future 
punishment  arise  from  a  denial  of  total  depravity :  they 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  355 

suppose  that  sinners  in  hell  can  cure  themselves,  and 
can  come  out  of  the  dreadful  mire  of  iniquity  ;  whereas 
their  nature  is  so  corrupt,  even  in  this  world,  that  they 
can  do  nothing  towards  their  recovery,  and  can  only 
be  regenerated  by  a  power  equal  to  that  which  created 
the  world :  consequently,  when  God  gives  them  up,  as 
he  will  give  up  all  reprobates  in  perdition,  nothing  will 
remain  but  for  the  deep  disease  of  sin  to  abide  in  them, 
and  to  increase  in  violence  for  ever." 

Ans.  It  is  no  matter  of  surprise  that  total  depravity 
has  long  been  a  very  favourite  point  of  orthodoxy,  for 
it  is  an  essential  link  in  the  chain  which  supports  the 
doctrine  of  eternal  election  and  reprobation.  I  almost 
winder  that  original  corruption  has  not  been  called 
infinite  depravity ;  for  this  is  what  the  doctrine  implies, 
as  a  necessary  counterpart  to  infinite  guilt,  and  infinite 
punishment. 

Let  us,  however,  inquire  into  the  subject.  If  by  the 
word  total,  we  are  to  understand  merely  that  all  the 
faculties  of  the  soul,  without  exception,  have  been  defiled 
by  the  influence  of  sin,  it  may  be  safely  admitted;  but 
if  we  are  called  upon  to  believe  that  all  the  faculties 
are  as  full  of  corruption  as  they  can  hold,  we  cannot 
admit  this,  without  renouncing  the  Bible,  and  embracing 
the  whole  system  of  Calvinian  predestination. 

God  said  to  Moses  on  the  Mount,  "  Get  thee  down, 
for  thy  people  have  corrupted  themselves ;"  and  Paul 
said  to  Timothy,  "  Evil  men  and  seducers  wax  worse 
and  worse."     Now  if  Adam's  children  are  born  totally 


356  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

depraved, — that  is,  as  full  of  corruption  as  they  can 
hold, — it  is  impossible  for  them  afterwards  to  "  corrupt 
themselves,"  or  to  do  any  thing  which  will  cause  their 
evil  nature  to  become  "  worse  and  worse  :"  for  the  doc- 
trine is,  that  the  depravity  is  so  total,  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  it  to  increase,  or  otherwise,  that  of  its  own  na- 
ture it  will  necessarily  and  unavoidably  accumulate,  as 
the  child  grows  up  to  manhood.  In  neither  case  can 
men  corrupt  themselves,  or  Wax  worse  and  worse  by 
their  own  voluntary  actions ;  for  they  are  supposed  to 
be  as  corrupt  already,  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  be, 
independently  of  such  actions. 

The  secret  of  the  matter  is  this : — total  depravity  is 
fondly  believed  to  be  such  as  to  bind  the  will  to  evil  of 
necessity,  so  that  men  can  never  exercise  an  agency 
that  will  have  any  tendency  to  reformation,  till  they 
are  regenerated  by  an  irresistible  act  of  Almighty 
power ;  after  which  act,  their  agency  will  be  carried  as 
uncontrollably  in  the  way  of  goodness,  as  it  was  before 
carried  in  the  way  of  evil.  This  is  the  precise  mean- 
ing of  total  depravity ;  and  Arminians  have  been  fright- 
ened into  it  from  the  dread  of  heresy ;  and,  by  adhering 
to  it,  they  have  unwittingly  drawn  to  their  embrace  the 
entire  system  of  unconditional  reprobation. 

What  are  the  facts,  as  we  learn  them  from  the 
instructions  of  our  Creator?  They  are,  that  man  is 
dependent  on  the  Holy  Spirit  for  all  his  success  in  ceas- 
ing to  do  evil,  and  learning  to  do  well ;  and  yet  that  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  may  be  either  complied 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  357 

with,  or  resisted,  by  man's  voluntary  agency.  They 
are,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  co-operates  with  Providence, 
with  the  Gospel,  and  with  the  Law, — all  having  a  com- 
bined tendency  to  promote  good,  and  to  subdue  evil, 
without  taking  any  man  out  of  a  state  of  just  and  equi- 
table responsibility.  This  is  the  plain  doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  it  is  confirmed  by  universal  experience. 

From  this  doctrine,  we  may  fairly  draw  these  three 
conclusions :  First,  if  Providence,  the  Gospel,  and  the 
Law,  are  used  by  the  Supreme  Being  as  means  of  pro- 
moting good,  and  subduing  evil,  the  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  are  not  intended  to  supersede  these  means, 
but  to  concur  with  them,  in  order  to  their  efficiency  on 
the  unconstrained  faculties  and  affections  of  the  human 
soul. 

Secondly,  as  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin,  and 
as  this  law  never  operates  in  contradiction  of  itself,  its 
penalty  is  intended  to  give  the  true  knowledge  of  sin,  and 
consequently  to  promote  good,  and  to  discourage  evil, 
as  well  as  its  precepts  and  prohibitions. 

Thirdly,  as  God  gives  efficiency  to  the  means  ap- 
pointed by  him  to  operate  against  evil,  and  furnishes  an 
energy  by  his  Holy  Spirit  to  all  who  are  willing  to  be 
benefited  by  those  means,  he  has  as  much  power,  and 
as  good  a  right,  to  give  efficiency  to  them  in  any  period 
of  future  duration,  as  he  has  in  the  present,  or  has  had 
in  the  past.  If  it  be  said,  that  though  he  has  the  right, 
yet  he  will  not  do  it  in  a  future  state,  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  why  he  will  not,  except  it  be  either  because  it 


358  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

would  be  a  dishonour  to  himself,  or  an  injury  to  his 
creation.  Would  it  be  an  injury  to  heaven  or  earth, 
for  the  principle  and  the  love  of  sin  to  be  weakened  in 
hell  ?  or  will  any  one  say,  that  the  endless  and  accu- 
mulating rage  of  moral  evil,  in  a  course  of  enmity 
against  God,  is  really  most  honourable  to  God,  and 
essential  to  the  well-being  of  his  upright  universe  ? 

The  thought  is  sometimes  entertained,  perhaps,  that 
God  would  degrade  himself,  by  having  any  thing  to  do 
with  the  outcasts  of  hell ;  and  that,  like  the  ancient 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  he  must  refrain  from  having  any 
intercourse  with  such  sinners,  lest  he  should  be  defiled. 
But  can  any  man  prove  that  God  is  any  more  degraded 
by  the  exercise  of  his  grace  and  mercy,  than  he  is  by 
the  exercise  of  his  justice  ?  Or  shall  we  conclude  that 
justice  in  hell  is  the  operation  of  another  God'!  or  at 
least,  that  the  one  God  carries  on  the  process,  by  the 
exercise  of  his  other  character? 

In  short,  this  opinion,  sometimes  entertained  by  Ar- 
minians  as  well  as  others,  that  the  inhabitants  of  hell 
are  too  vile  to  have  any  share  in  heaven's  clemency,  is 
the  offspring  of  the  system  of  doctrine  referred  to  above. 
Reprobates  are  regarded  as  inconceivably  odious 
beings,  because  God  hated  them  from  all  eternity.  The 
Almighty's  regards,  it  is  supposed,  are  to  be  exclusively 
confined  to  his  chosen.  The  damned  are  infidels,  hea- 
thens, and  heretics ;  they  are  too  contemptible  for  any 
favourable  sentiment  to  be  entertained  for  their  well- 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  359 

being,  by  their  Creator,  in  any  period  of  a  progressive 
and  an  endless  futurity ! 

They  have,  it  is  true,  made  themselves  exceedingly 
vile  by  their  wicked  works ;  and  the  ground  of  it  is,  that 
these  works  proceeded  from  a  hateful  spirit  of  malice 
in  their  hearts,  which  they  voluntarily  cherished,  and 
adhered  to  with  obstinate  perseverance ;  but  if  we 
say  God  is  unwilling  that  their  malevolent  disposition 
should  be  subdued,  our  conclusion  seems  to  be,  that  he 
loves  to  have  a  vast  population  of  odious  beings  under 
his  dominion,  and  therefore  decrees  that  their  evil  cha- 
racter shall  be  for  ever  perpetuated. 

Obj.  7.  "  The  supposition  that  agency  will  be  conti- 
nued in  all  creatures  in  a  future  state,  implies  that  the 
inhabitants  of  heaven  are  still  free  agents,  and  of  course, 
that  they  may  fall  away  and  be  lost." 

Ans.  1.  Suppose  God  should  fix  all  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven  in  a  state  of  holiness  and  happiness,  by  absolute 
power ;  does  it  therefore  follow,  that  those  in  hell  must 
be  fixed  in  like  manner  in  a  state  of  sin  and  misery  1 
If  it  does,  the  clear  consequence  is,  that  God  is  depend- 
ent on  hell  for  his  ability  to  sustain  heaven ;  and  that 
without  having  this  basis  to  rest  upon,  his  omnipotent 
arm  must  necessarily  fail  to  perpetuate  the  happiness 
of  his  own  children ! 

2.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven,  as  well  as  those  of  hell, 
will  undoubtedly  continue  to  be  free  agents.  Why  was 
all  the  apparatus  of  moral  government,  and  such  a  long 
course  of  training  resolved  upon,  but  because  the  hap- 


360  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

piness  of  creatures  must  be  based  upon  a  moral  and  not 
upon  a  mechanical  foundation?  If  creatures  can  be 
fixed  in  a  state  of  holy  enjoyment  by  absolute  power, 
they  might  have  all  been  so  fixed  at  their  creation,  and 
neither  sin  nor  misery  would  have  ever  been  known ; 
and  had  such  a  plan  been  possible,  and  been  the  best, 
it  is  certain  that  infinite  goodness  would  have  adopted  it. 

3.  It  does  not  follow  that  because  saints  and  angels 
in  heaven  are  free  agents,  that  any  of  them  will  fall 
away  from  their  happy  condition.  They  have  the 
power  of  God  for  their  protection ;  his  wisdom  for  their 
guide ;  his  justice  for  their  defence ;  and  his  goodness 
for  the  supply  of  all  their  wants.  They  partake  of  the 
immutability  of  God,  so  far  as  this  attribute  can  be  pos- 
sessed in  the  mind  of  a  creature ;  and  the  whole  course 
of  their  previous  training  was  intended  to  produce  a 
stability  that  should  be  voluntary,  and  without  coercion. 

4.  The  whole  revelation  of  God,  his  whole  course 
of  Providence  and  moral  government,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  to  eternity,  have  a  uniform  tendency 
to  encourage  virtue  and  to  discourage  vice ;  and  con- 
sequently, to  strengthen  the  foundations  of  heaven,  and 
in  the  same  proportion  to  weaken  the  foundations  of 
hell.  To  say  that  such  a  process  is  calculated  to  make 
hell  as  permanent  as  heaven,  is  as  glaring  a  contradic- 
tion as  can  easily  be  conceived.  No :  the  only  ground 
on  which  the  conclusion  rests,  that  God  will  make  sin 
and  misery  as  permanent  as  holiness  and  happiness,  is 
that  he  eternally  operates  with  a  double  character: — 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  361 

that  he  loves  the  inhabitants  of  heaven,  and  hates  those 
of  hell,  simply  as  creatures ;  and  consequently  that  he 
elected  the  former,  and  reprobated  the  latter,  from  ever- 
lasting. This  is  the  only  system  which  carries  inexo- 
rable wrath  along  with  it ;  and  Arminians  must  embrace 
the  whole  system,  or  otherwise  they  must  relinquish  the 
indefensible  doctrine  of  necessary  sin  and  infinite  misery 
for  the  wicked. 

Obj.  8.  "  Our  Saviour  has  given  the  most  alarming 
account  of  future  torment,  of  any  prophet  or  apostle 
whose  words  are  recorded  in  either  the  Old  or  the  New 
Testament;  He  certainly  knew  the  true  state  of  the 
invisible  world;  therefore  his  authority, is  decisive,  in 
regard  to  the  tremendous  nature  and  duration  of  future 


'O 


Ans.  It  is  no  less  true,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
gave  the  most  impressive  and  endearing  account  of  the 
gracious  and  merciful  disposition  of  the  Eternal  Father, 
of  any  person  that  ever  appeared  in  our  world.  One 
part  of  his  teaching  has  as  much  authority  as  another; 
and  he  never  intended  to  contradict  himself.  He  tells 
us  that  our  Heavenly  Father  is  merciful,  and  that  a 
merciful  disposition  is  that  which  He  especially  requires 
of  all  his  children. 

He  informs  us,  moreover,  that  a  negative  and  positive 
cruelty  will  be  the  chief  ground  of  a  sinner's  condemna- 
tion in  a  future  state.  Their  negative  cruelty  consists 
in  an  indifference  to  the  miseries  of  the  hungry,  the 
thirsty,  the  naked,  the  sick,  the  stranger  and  the  prisoner. 
31  Q 


862  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

(See  the  25th  chapter  of  Matthew.)  Their  positive 
cruelty  consists  in  devouring  widow's  houses,  in  shutting 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men,  in  laying  heavy 
burdens  on  men's  shoulders,  and  in  laying  hands  on  a 
fellow  servant,  taking  him  by  the  throat,  and  casting  him 
into  prison,  because  he  was  poor  and  miserable,  and 
had  nothing  to  pay.  (See  Mat.  xxiii.  4,  and  verses  18, 
27,  &c.) 

Now  if  we  say  the  Lord  Jesus  presented  before  us  the 
disposition  of  cruelty,  as  the  chief  cause  of  the  Divine 
vengeance  in  a  future  state,  and  at  the  same  time  held 
forth  God's  judicial  action  as  a  process  of  eternal  cruelty, 
do  we  not  represent  him  as  furnishing  a  statement  of 
the  case  which  will  enable  all  intelligent  beings  to  look 
up  to  the  Creator  and  say,  Thou  that  judgest  doest  the 
same  things  ?  And  what  greater  cruelty  can  be  con- 
ceived, than  for  creatures  to  be  filled  as  full  of  torment 
as  their  capacity  can  hold,  and  be  confined  in  necessary 
sin  and  misery  without  end,  by  Almighty  power  1 

Alas!  this  doctrine  casts  its  shadow  far  behind,  and 
eclipses  all  the  sacred  and  soul-cheering  truths  of  the 
Christian  religion.  In  vain  may  we  be  told  of  the  good 
providence  of  God  towards  Jews  or  Gentiles :  in  vain 
may  we  behold  the  mild  and  beautiful  character  of 
the  Saviour,  as  "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person :"  in  vain  may  we 
study  the  justice,  the  veracity,  and  the  kindness  of  our 
Maker's  conduct  in  the  present  world : — the  doctrine 
under  review  carries  the  universe  forward  to  a  gloomy 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.     363 

consummation,  and  causes  all  those  stars  of  encouraging 
doctrine  to  set  under  an  unfathomable  cloud  of  mystery 
and  darkness,  which  seems  plainly  undistinguishable 
from  an  unprincipled  and  an  unfeeling  despotism. 


SECTION  IX. 

A  condensed  View  of  the  operations  of  Moral  Govern- 
ment. 

The  reader's  attention  is  respectfully  invited  to  the 
following  arguments,  in  confirmation  of  what  has  been 
advanced : 

1.  Prior  to  the  time  when  sin  entered  into  the  crea- 
tion, God  loved  all  his  creatures,  and  delighted  in  their 
happiness.  At  that  time  he  formed  his  plan  of  govern- 
ment, and  so  constructed  it,  that  its  action  should  pro- 
mote the  common  welfare,  without  injustice  and  with- 
out partiality.  This  government  was  intended  to  be 
eternal;  for  being  perfect,  it  could  never  be  altered, 
without  being  altered  for  the  worse.  Its  design  was  to 
discourage  all  wrong  conduct,  and  to  promote  holiness 
and  happiness  in  all  created  minds ;  and  its  penalties, 
no  less  than  its  rewards,  wTere  parts  of  one  undivided 
system,  having  no  contradiction  in  itself,  intended  to 
operate  against  evil,  and  to  promote  goodness,  without 
restriction  or  limitation.     Consequently,  as  its  Author 


364    CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 

changes  not,  and  could  not  amend  a  perfect  system,  its 
tendency  must  ever  remain  the  same.  To  suppose  its 
penal  operation  will  perpetuate  sin  and  its  consequences, 
in  the  minds  of  any  beings  in  existence,  is  to  assume, 
either  that  the  government  was  originally  partial,  and, 
in  regard  to  some  creatures,  aimed  at  the  promotion 
of  sin  and  misery,  or  that  an  essential  change  has  since 
taken  place  in  its  constituent  principles. 

2.  If  the  Divine  government  was  originally  fitted 
to  operate  in  the  promotion  of  sin  and  misery,  in  a 
part  of  the  intelligent  creation,  it  must  have  been 
because  its  Author  intended  that  these  evils  should  be 
produced ;  and  of  course,  it  was  an  essential  part  of  the 
Divine  plan,  before  intelligent  creatures  were  brought 
into  being,  that  a  proportion  of  them  should,  in  the  final 
issue,  be  involved  in  endless  pain;  a  conclusion  this, 
which  is  founded  upon  the  system  of  eternal  reproba- 
tion, and  which  must  stand  or  fall  with  that  system. 

S.  On  supposition  that  the  Divine  government  was 
constituted  to  operate  in  favour  of  good,  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  evil,  and  that  too,  without  variableness  or  shadow 
of  turning,  it  follows  that  the  evil  that  is  in  hell  is  not 
and  never  will  be  perpetuated  by  the  action  of  this  go- 
vernment. The  perpetuity  of  hell  is  caused  by  the 
agency  of  men  and  devils,  and  not  by  the  agency  of 
God,  in  any  other  way  than  as  he  exercises  a  good 
agency  in  opposing  evil;  consequently,  if  creatures 
would  cease  from  the  voluntary  maintenance  of  evil, 
the   government  of  God,  as    was   originally  intended, 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.    365 

would  naturally  operate  in  the  production  of  universal 
happiness. 

4.  If  the  undivided  purpose  of  God  originally  was  to 
discourage  all  evil,  and  to  promote  all  good,  and  if  it 
be  now,  or  will  be  hereafter,  an  essential  part  of  his 
administration  to  perpetuate  sin  and  misery,  it  follows 
that  the  introduction  of  moral  evil  has  produced  a 
change  both  in  regard  to  the  governing  purposes  of  his 
mind,  and  to  the  tendency  of  his  course  of  moral  action. 
The^  ultimate  result  of  this  would  seem  to  be,  that  the 
progress  of  evil  will  gradually  absorb  the  action  of 
goodness,  and  will  draw  it  into  itself  as  its  coadjutor  in 
the  final  perpetuation  of  misery. 

5.  'If  evil  should  be  triumphant,  against  the  original 
disposition  of  the  Deity,  and  without  making  any  change 
in  his  disposition,  its  uncontrollable  accumulation,  so 
far  as  I  can  see,  would  naturally  tend  to  p;-oduce  grief 
and  lamentation  in  all  upright  minds,  and  even  in  the 
mind  of  the  Almighty  himself.  It  would  seem  calcu- 
lated to  fill  all  heaven  with  despair,  under  the  dismal 
apprehension  that  there  is  an  energy  in  moral  evil  that 
will  finally  eventuate  in  the  destruction  of  all  happiness. 

6.  The  basis  on  which  we  avoid,  such  a  melancholy 
conclusion,  is  precisely  the  following:  Goodness  has 
Almighty  power  in  its  possession ;  it  has  an  unchange- 
able disposition  to  use  this  power  in  a  manner  best  cal- 
culated to  subdue  evil,  and  to  establish  the  contrary ;  it 
has  infinitely  stronger  motives  to  present  to  created 
minds,  and  thereby  to  influence  created  agency,  than 

31* 


^66     CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 

evil  possibly  can  have ;  therefore  goodness  will  eter- 
nally have  the  ascendency,  and  its  native  consequences 
will  continually  enlarge,  while  sin  and  misery  will  be 
diminished,  or  be  kept  in  a  state  of  just  and  invariable 
subordination.  Moral  evil,  though  it  may  continue  to 
rage  and  fight  against  God,  can  never  come  off  victo- 
rious. 

7.  If  any  creatures  in  a  future  state  will  have  lost  all 
agency,  it  must  be  because  the  Almighty  could  not  pre- 
vent it ;  for  if  his  government  has  been  operating  in  the 
best  manner  possible  to  promote  good  and  to  prevent 
evil,  and  if  creatures,  notwithstanding  its  operation, 
have  sustained  so  great  an  evil  as  the  loss  of  their 
agency,  which  is  the  most  distinguished  faculty  of  their 
created  nature,  no  other  conclusion  remains,  than  that 
this  calamity  has  ensued  in  defiance  of  the  whole  energy 
and  influence  of  the  Divine  government.  Sin  has  tri- 
umphed over  the  essential  constitution  of  mind,  and  has 
nullified  the  original  energy  of  creation  !  The  only 
way  in  which  this  conclusion  can  be  set  aside,  is  by 
saying  that  agency  was  not  really  made  free,  but  was 
so  formed  at  first  as  necessarily  to  choose  in  one  direc- 
tion ;  and  of  course,  that  it  was  an  essential  part  of  the 
Creator's  plan,  that  the  reprobated  part  of  his  creatures 
should  choose  wrong,  and  sink  into  eternal  misery. 

Hence  the  conclusion  seems  indisputable,  that  no 
creature  will  ever  be  confined  in  a  state  of  necessary 
evil,  by  any  penal  operation  of  the  Divine  government, 
unless  it  can  be  proved  that  said  government  was  ori- 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.    367 

ginally  formed  with  a  view  to  this  very  end.  If  this 
can  be  proved,  the  entire  system  of  predestination  must 
be  adopted ;  and  the  most  ultra  Calvinists  are  the  only 
people  upon  earth  who  hold  to  a  consistent  scheme  of 
theology. 

8.  While  Arminians  will  be  apt  to  feel  reluctant  to 
embrace  the  predestinarian  system,  on  account  of  its 
sustaining  the  favourite  doctrine  of  infinite  misery  for 
the  wicked,  Calvinists  themselves,  upon  reflection,  will 
find  no  real  cause  to  rejoice  in  the  conclusion  to  which 
their  creed  is  calculated  to  conduct  the  inquiring  mind. 
When  they  look  away  from  their  own  supposed  indivi- 
dual security,  to  the  melancholy  destiny  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  their  fellow  creatures,  a  painful  sympathy 
must  sometimes  disturb  their  tranquillity.  Multiplied 
millions  of  their  brethren  of  the  human  race  are  coming 
on  the  stage  of  life,  whose  unavoidable  fatality  it  is,  to 
spend  a  few  years  of  restless  vanity  in  this  world,  as  a 
prelude  to  unutterable  anguish  that  is  destined  to  be 
without  intermission  and  without  end  !  When  from  this 
sad  contemplation  they  raise  their  thoughts  to  the  Great 
Supreme,  all  is  mystery  the  most  profound  and  impene- 
trable. Their  confidence  in  him  will  sometimes  waver, 
whence  will  be  produced  a  chilling  influence  upon  their 
love ;  and  this  cannot  fail  to  convey  discomfort  to  the 
consciousness  of  the  soul. 

9.  When  they  do  enjoy  comfort  of  mind,  in  the  sup- 
posed security  which  the  system  affords  themselves,  it 
will  be  interrupted  by  the  conviction  which  will  force 


36S    CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 

itself  upon  them,  that  theirs  is,  and  necessarily  must  be, 
a  perfectly  selfish  enjoyment.  The  system  which  is 
supposed  to  make  their  own  eternal  happiness  secure 
and  certain,  makes  the  eternal  misery  of  a  vast  propor- 
tion of  mankind  equally  so ;  and  it  is  by  no  means  im- 
probable that  a  majority  of  their  own  children  are  on 
the  dark  list  of  inevitable  reprobation.  The  same  prin- 
ciple of  government,  or  rather  the  same  original  decree 
which  is  destitute  of  all  principle,  while  it  secures  their 
personal  felicity,  binds  their  own  children  in  the  fatal 
bond  of  never-ending  misery.  What  father,  possessing 
even  "natural  affection,"  can  take  pleasure  in  a  plan 
of  partial  grace  involving  consequences  so  tremendous  ? 
10.  The  system  will  peradventure  be  found,  more- 
over, to  leave  their  own  happiness  more  insecure  than 
might  at  first  view  be  imagined.  In  the  first  place, 
they  are  probably  not  quite  certain  that  they  themselves 
are  of  the  elect  number ;  and  if  there  should  be  any 
doubt  of  this,  what  an  amount  of  horror  must  be  in 
such  an  uncertainty !  And  even  supposing  their  own 
election  should  be  thought  certain,  a  fair  examination 
of  the  matter  will  leave  it  problematical  whether  the 
eternal  happiness  of  the  elect  themselves  is  perfectly 
secure  under  such  a  mysterious  government.  The  de- 
cree of  election  is  supposed  to  originate  in  God's  eter- 
nal love  for  their  persons.  Now  a  preference  which  is 
unaccountable,  and  founded  on  no  reason,  is  merely 
capricious ;  for  what  is  caprice,  but  an  affection,  or 
purpose  of  mind,  which  is  founded  upon  no  reason,  and 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.    369 

is  regulated  by  no  principle  1  Such  an  affection,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  must  be  fluctuating ;  because  there  is 
no  principle  to  make  it  permanent.  If  we  say  the  ever- 
lasting love  for  the  elect  existed  in  the  Divine  Mind  of 
necessity,  and  hence  his  course  of  action  towards  them 
necessarily  proceeded,  we  find  ourselves  at  once  landed 
on  the  ground  of  atheistic  fatality ;  but  if  the  Supreme 
Being  chose  to  love  them  by  the  free  exercise  of  his 
own  will,  he  had  sufficient  reasons  for  this  affection, 
founded  on  good  principle,  or  otherwise  he  chose  to 
exercise  caprice  and  partiality.  The  elect,  as  crea- 
tures, were  precisely  the  same  as  reprobates ;  and  as 
fallen  creatures,  their  corruption  was  the  same.  Our 
Calvinist  brethren  often  tell  us  that  the  elect  resist  God 
as  long  as  they  can;  and  it  is  evident  that  reprobates 
do  no  more ;  therefore  it  must  puzzle  a  theologian  as 
well  as  a  philosopher,  to  determine  why  the  former 
should  be  preferred  to  the  latter. 

The  great  Ruler  of  the  world  maintains  his  unchange- 
able stand  upon  moral  principle :  on  this  ground  he  de- 
mands of  his  creatures  to  meet  him,  that  he  may  have 
sufficient  reasons  to  love,  and  reward  them  :  if  they 
refuse  to  do  so,  he  then  has  sufficient  reasons  to  disap- 
probate  and  punish  them.  But  to  say  his  approbation 
and  disapprobation  are  originally  formed  without  any 
reason  whatever,  independently  of  all  regard  to  a  just 
responsibility,  and  that  his  rewards  and  punishments  are 
dispensed  accordingly,  is  to  sap  the  foundation  of  his 


370     CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 

moral  government,  and  to  eclipse  the  whole  glory  of  his 
Divine  character. 

It  is  pretended  that  we  must  embrace  all  these  ab- 
surdities, as  the  only  possible  way  of  avoiding  the  hereti- 
cal doctrine  of  human  merit ;  but  it  is  presumed  there  is 
some  way  of  escape  from  this  heresy,  without  running 
into  the  great  deep  of  unconditional  reprobation. 

No  possible  doings  of  man  can  merit  the  reward  of 
eternal  happiness ;  and  yet  men's  actions  can  be  such 
as  to  furnish  a  sufficient  reason,  on  the  ground  of  a 
righteous  impartiality,  for  one  creature  to  be  rewarded, 
and  another  punished ;  otherwise  it  is  indubitable  that 
man  is  not  responsible  at  all,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of 
hell  are  exactly  as  free  from  demerit,  as  those  of  hea- 
ven are  destitute  of  merit.  Thus  to  avoid  one  imagi- 
nary heresy,  we  are  invited  into  a  wilderness  of  absurd- 
ities, where  neither  sun  nor  stars  appear,  but  where 
all  is  confusion  and  disorder,  and  "  darkness  that  may 
be  felt." 

11.  The  only  way  to  avoid  this  course  of  error  and 
contradiction,  is  consistently  to  maintain  that  the  whole 
government  of  the  Deity  is  regulated  by  an  unwavering 
purpose,  to  maintain  and  promote  holiness,  so  far  as  cre- 
ated beings  will  consent  for  it  to  be  promoted,  and  to  make 
all  creatures  happy  icho  are  willing  to  be  made  so  upon 
this  foundation.  Arminians  must  admit  this  axiom,  or 
otherwise  they  will  necessarily  exchange  the  system  of 
doctrine  advocated  by  Wesley  and  Fletcher,  for  that 
which  was  established  at  the  Synod  of  Dort.     And  if 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.      371 

they  admit  the  position  above  stated,  they  will  find  them- 
selves conducted  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  con- 
clusions :  either  that  our  Creator  will  maintain  the  same 
moral  process  through  all  future  duration,  as  specified 
in  the  axiom,  or  that  an  essential  change  will  have  taken 
place  in  his  disposition  and  measures;  and  that  in  a 
future  state  he  will  establish  his  government  upon  the 
precise  ground  which  Calvinists  say  he  resolved  upon 
from  all  eternity. 

12.  The  method  whereby  our  Calvinist  friends  at- 
tempt to  evade  the  consequences  which  we  fasten  upon 
their  scheme  of  doctrine,  is  as  singular  as  it  is  inde- 
fensible. They  say,  reprobates  sin  freely;  that  they 
choose  the  way  of  death  without  coercion ;  and  there- 
fore they  justly  deserve  the  damnation  that  was  ap- 
pointed for  them  from  everlasting.  Mr.  Calvin  informs 
us  that  "  Freedom  from  necessity  is  naturally  inherent 
in  man,  so  that  nothing  can  deprive  him  of  it."  This 
maxim  is  held,  at  the  same  time,  in  connection  with  the 
following  from  Augustine,  in  which  Calvinists,  ancient 
and  modern,  agree:  "The  will  being  changed  for  the 
worse,  I  know  not  by  what  corrupt  and  surprising 
means,  is  itself  the  author  of  the  necessity  to  which  it  is 
subject."  (See  "  Difficulties  of  Arminian  Methodism," 
pages  314  and  324.)  Augustine  adds,  "  If  we  are  bound 
by  our  own  passions,  which  are  under  the  government 
of  sin,  so  that  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  obey  our  Father, 
there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  plead  this  necessity 


372    CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 

in  our  defence,  the  criminality  of  which  is  within  our- 
selves, and  must  be  imputed  to  us."     (Ibid.) 

These  quotations  affirm  that  man  has  "  freedom  from 
necessity"  and  yet  that  he  " is  not  at  liberty"  but  that, 
by  some  surprising  means,  he  is  " subject  to  necessity" 
his  own  will  being  the  author  of  this  subjection.  Are 
not  these  palpable  contradictions  1  Nothing  can  save 
them  from  this  charge,  but  giving  different  meanings  to 
the  word  necessity,  in  the  several  sentences.  I  know 
of  two  kinds  of  necessity  only :  physical  and  moral. 
The  former  is  a  man's  being  bound  to  act  as  he  does, 
because  he  cannot  do  otherwise ;  the  latter,  his  being 
bound  to  act  as  he  does,  because  he  ought  not  to  do 
otherwise.  As  to  a  figurative  or  accommodated  sense 
of  the  word  necessity,  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  pre- 
sent question.  The  whole  controversy  turns  upon  phy- 
sical or  positive  necessity.  Our  Cakinist  brethren 
appear  to  believe  in  another  kind,  which  for  distinc- 
tion's sake  may  be  called  metaphysical  necessity.  This 
consists  in  some  "corrupt  and  surprising  means,"  where- 
by the  will  binds  itself,  so  that  "  it  is  not  at  liberty,"  but 
renders  us  subject  to  a  "  necessity  within  ourselves,  that 
must  be  imputed  to  us."  The  man  is  still  free  to  act, 
it  seems,  but  has  no  power  to  choose  differently  from 
what  he  does.  But  if  a  man  has  no  power  to  choose, 
he  has  no  power  to  act  in  pursuance  of  that  choice ; 
otherwise  we  say  he  can  act  without  intending  to  act, 
which  is  impossible.     If  he  has  no  power  to  choose,  he 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.  373 

has  no  power  over  the  action  which  depends  upon  that 
choice. 

It  is  assumed,  we  perceive,  that  when  man  chooses 
in  a  wrong  direction,  it  is  because  he  is  "  not  at  liberty" 
or  has  no  power  to  choose  otherwise,  which  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  simply  begging  the  question.  It  is 
taking  for  granted,  that  when  a  man  chooses  to  do 
wrong,  it  is  because  he  cannot  change  the  purpose  of  his 
mind,  by  reason  of  some  "  corrupt  and  surprising  means" 
in  his  own  will ;  and  hence  we  are  conducted  to  the 
conclusion  which  is  first  assumed  in  the  premises,  and 
are  furnished  with  a  striking  example  of  what  logicians 
call  reasoning  in  a  circle.  This  favourite  maxim,  that 
the  will  is  free,  and  not  free,  at  the  same  time,  is  the 
great  centre  point  of  predestination.  On  this  contra- 
diction the  whole  system  hangs.  Consciousness  testi- 
fies, however,  that  we  have  power  to  reverse  our  choice, 
or  to  alter  the  purpose  of  our  will ;  the  Bible  confirms 
this  testimony,  by  abounding  with  commands,  promises, 
threatenings,  and  expostulations;  therefore  conscious- 
ness and  the  Bible  jointly  prove  that  the  doctrine  of 
predestinarian  fatality  is  founded  upon  the  sand. 

If  the  sinner  is  "  not  at  liberty,"  and  cannot  choose  to 
alter  his  course,  his  physical  power  of  action  alters  not 
the  case ;  for  the  necessity  which  he  is  under  is  as  abso- 
lute as  if  he  were  bound  in  fetters  of  iron.  It  is  said, 
indeed,  that  the  corrupt  will  "  is  itself  the  author  of  the 
necessity  to  which  it  is  subject."  The  position  must 
not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  it  is  in  consequence  of 
32 


374  CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 

"  the  will  being  changed  for  the  worse,"  that  it  becomes 
involved  in  this  metaphysical  necessity.  Now  if  the 
will  was  "  changed  for  the  worse"  by  the  man  himself, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  he  was  the  "  author"  of  the 
change ;  but  the  whole  theory  supposes  that  prior  to  the 
will  being  altered  for  the  worse,  it  was  under  the  same 
necessity  of  choosing  good,  as  it  is  since  under  of  choos- 
ing evil,  and  had  no  power  to  make  any  change  in  the 
course  of  its  volition.  A  revolution  must  therefore  have 
been  produced  by  another  cause,  whereby  the  creature 
was  corrupted,  and  rendered  "  not  at  liberty  to  obey 
our  father."  Who  was  the  "  author"  of  this  melan- 
choly departure  into  the  fatality  of  sin  ?  If  we  say  the 
Deity,  must  not  he  himself  have  been  first  changed  from 
good  to  evil  ?  If  so,  who  was  the  "  author"  of  this  change 
in  him '?  Alas !  for  the  excuses  and  apologies  of  pre- 
destination ! 

In  regard  to  the  doctrine  in  which  Calvinists  and  Ar- 
minians  appear  to  agree,  that  the  perpetuity  of  sin  is 
settled  in  all  the  inhabitants  of  hell,  by  an  uncontrolla- 
ble and  unchangeable  fatality,  we  may  observe  first, 
that  as  there  is  no  proof  of  this  fact  from  the  Bible,  nor 
from  reason,  nature  or  philosophy,  it  is  as  gratuitous  an 
assumption,  as  that  which  fixes  the  fatal  decree  of  sin 
in  a  past  eternity.  Secondly,  if  those  sinners  have  de- 
stroyed their  agency  by  their  own  action,  when  was  it 
done  1  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  have  died 
in  their  sins  at  fifteen  vears  of  a^e,  while  others  have 
repented  and  been  converted  at  the  age  of  three  score. 


CONDENSED  VIEW  OF  MORAL  GOVERNMENT.    375 

How  happens  it  that  the  agency  of  some  sinners  is  so 
much  more  easily  destroyed  for  ever,  t'han  that  of 
others  1  Thirdly,  the  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  as  we 
have  lately  seen,  would  not  admit  the  supposition  that 
mere  punishment  will  convert  the  soul  in  a  future  state ; 
and  what  better  reason  have  we,  I  ask,  to  suppose  that 
mere  punishment  will  perpetuate  sin  in  a  future  state  1 
Fourthly,  Mr.  Watson  said  also,  "  that  an  amount  of 
influence  on  the  mind,  which  would  compel  a  definite 
choice,"  on  the  side  of  virtue,  "  is  not  to  be  assumed  in 
regard  to  any  future  trial."  Neither  is  it  to  be  assumed, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  any  amount  of  influence  will 
"  compel  a  definite  choice,"  on  the  side  of  vice  and 
continued  rebellion.  Such  an  assumption,  to  say  the 
least,  would  certainly  be  as  groundless  as  the  other. 

In  short,  the  doctrine  which  fixes  this  fatal  decree  in 
a  'past  eternity,  and  that  which  fixes  it  in  a  future  eter- 
nity, agree  to  impute  a  reprobating  disposition  to  our 
Creator ;  and  they  alike  represent  him  as  keeping  in 
existence  involuntary  beings,  or  beings  destitute  of  all 
agency,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  fill  their  conscious- 
ness with  invariable  and  endless  misery !  That  men 
possessing  the  feelings  of  humanity  should  be  prevailed 
on  to  believe  such  a  doctrine,  is  wonderful ;  but  that 
any  of  them  should  rejoice  in  it, — as  they  evidently  did 
when  heretics  were  burnt  at  the  stake, — this  indeed  is 
more  wonderful  still ;  and  it  seems  but  too  well  calcu- 
lated to  make  a  considerate  person  feel  ashamed  that 
he  is  a  man.     . 


SECTION  X. 

Importance  of  a  true  Knowledge  of  God,  in  its  Influence 
on  future  Generations. 

The  character  of  Almighty  God  must  be  exhibited 
in  all  its  fullness  and  glory,  and  be  maintained  in  its 
consistency,  before  the  millennium  can  be  introduced. 
A  just  and  clear  representation  of  Christian  theology 
will  open  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  that  long  anti- 
cipated and  delightful  period,  in  the  several  ways  fol- 
lowing. 

First,  it  will  harmonize  the  views  and  feelings  of 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  terminate  the  bitterness  of 
sectarian  controversy.  There  may  still  be  discussion, 
for  mutual  aid  and  advancement  in  knowledge;  but 
while  men  harmonize  in  judgment  concerning  the  excel- 
lency of  our  God,  their  difference  of  opinion  in  other 
matters  will  be  of  inconsiderable  importance.  The 
great  and  protracted  controversies  of  Christendom  have 
been  excited  by  certain  doctrines  which  resulted  from 
false  views  of  the  Divine  Being,  and  which  never  can 
be  kept  in  countenance,  where  the  sunbeams  of  His 
moral  glory  are  shining  without  a  cloud.  Let  us  agree 
that  there  is  one  God,  essentially  of  one  character,  and 
it  will  be  easy  for  us  to  become  one  body  of  Christ- 
"  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent. 

(37G) 


WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY.  377 

As  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us ;  that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou 
hast  sent  me."  (John  xvii.  3 — 21.) 

Secondly,  it  will  unite  Christians  in  one  supreme 
object  of  contemplation,  and  in  a  mutual  conviction, 
that  there  is  really  but  one  road  to  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven. Let  men  embrace  the  truth  without  contradic- 
tion, and  without  wavering,  that  God  is  indeed  an  un- 
compounded  fountain  of  all  moral  perfection,  and  how 
immensely  interesting  will  they  find  it,  to  improve  their 
knowledge  of  this  great  subject,  and  to  understand  the 
consistent  energy  of  the  Divine  Mind,  in  regulating  the 
destinies,  and  promoting  the  welfare,  of  the  whole  intel- 
lectual creation !  They  will  clearly  understand  that 
such  a  Being  is  truly  the  God  of  peace,  and  the  God  of 
all  comfort ;  and  that  jars  and  conflicts  among  his  crea- 
tures, must  ever  incur  his  sovereign  disapprobation. 
The  conviction  will  be  irresistible,  that  as  God  is  holy, 
without  any  mixture  or  deficiency,  he  must  love  holi- 
ness in  others,  and  abhor  the  contrary;  and  conse- 
quently, to  become  like  God,  or  to  be  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature,  is  the  one  and  the  only  way  to  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  When  the  opinion  is  practically  enter- 
tained, that  God  will  be  pleased  with  us  for  despising  or 
persecuting  others,  this  arises  from  our  mentally  impu- 
ting false  principles  and  sentiments  of  mind  to  him; 
and  so  also  does  the  persuasion  which  has  been  so  com- 
mon, that  we  can  secure  his  favour  by  a  mere  attention 
to  external  forms  and  ceremonies.  This  supposes  him 
32  *  q  * 


378  WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY. 

to  be  a  formal  and  ceremonious  Deity ;  or  that  there  is 
some  kind  of  mystery  in  the  disposition  of  his  mind, 
which  is  pleased  with  something  else  than  the  essential 
characteristics  of  moral  goodness.  But  let  these  delu- 
sions be  removed  from  the  minds  of  men,  as  they  will 
be  by  the  brightness  of  the  Almighty's  glory,  and  Chris- 
tians will  be  drawn  together, — will  be  perfectly  joined 
together  in  the  same  mind  and  the  same  judgment, — and 
the  Millennium  will  soon  open  to  the  view  of  a  delighted 
universe. 

Thirdly,  the  public  attention  will  be  called  to  the 
consideration  of  religious  truth,  in  a  manner  that  has 
not  been  witnessed  for  the  last  fifteen  hundred  years. 
Inconsideration  in  mankind  is  a  very  great  crime;  and 
it  is  sacredly  obligatory  on  religious  teachers  to  avoid 
whatsoever  would  promote,  or  seem  to  excuse,  this  de- 
structive evil.  The  people  have  long  had  such  doc^ 
trines  exhibited  before  them,  from  the  pulpit  and  the 
press,  concerning  God  and  his  dispensations,  as  have 
produced  in  them  a  habit  of  viewing  the  whole  subject 
of  divinity  as  a  mystery,  which  they  cannot  understand, 
and  which  they  need  not  approach.  Hence  they  feel 
excused  in  dismissing  the  whole  theme  from  their  atten- 
tion, and  in  devoting  their  mental  faculties  to  other  sub- 
jects of  inquiry  or  amusement.  The  land  is  flooded 
with  novels,  and  the  public  taste  is  deplorably  vitiated ; 
one  cause  of  which  probably  is,  that  Theology  is  pre- 
sented in  a  form  that  is  repulsive,  or  is  not  maintained 
in  that  consistency  which  challenges  the  assent  of  the 


WELFARE  OF  POSTEPJTY.  379 

human  judgment,  or  with  that  attractiveness  which  is 
calculated  to  engage  the  attention  of  a  contemplative 
mind.  The  views  too  often  given,  naturally  tend  to 
promote  general  ignorance ;  because,  from  the  kinds  of 
doctrine  authoritatively  exhibited,  the  people  receive 
the  impression,  and  become  habitually  settled  in  it,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  theology  that  is  really  worth  learn- 
ing. A  gloomy  sovereignty  is  held  up  to  their  viewT, 
apparently  altogether  capricious  in  its  selections,  and 
inexorable  in  its  purposes,  to  fill  a  future  eternity,  in 
reference  to  a  vast  majority  of  the  world,  with  invaria- 
ble and  interminable  agony.  The  sinner  says  in  his 
heart,  it  is  mystery  all,  with  nothing  in  it  calculated  to 
engage  the  attention  of  the  mind ;  it  may  be  true,  or  it 
may  not,  and  I  do  not  intend  to  give  myself  much  trou- 
ble to  ascertain  whether  it  be  or  not.  This  conduct, 
indeed,  may  all  be  resolved  into  the  enmity  of  the  car- 
nal mind  against  God ;  but  let  the  character  of  God  be 
fairly  represented,  and  this  enmity  will  be  left  without 
excuse ;  whereas  if  religious  teachers  misrepresent  God, 
and  thereby  cause  him  to  be  reproached  and  distrusted, 
their  false  doctrines  are  in  a  great  measure  the  cause 
of  the  injury  and  the  insult.  Men  live  without  God  in 
the  world,  not  simply  because  their  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity against  him,  but  because  they  have  been  bewil- 
dered and  misled  by  false  views  of  his  dispensations. 

Fourthly,  a  consistent  and  correct  knowledge  of  the 
Deity  will  be  a  prelude  to  the  Millennium,  by  removing 


380  WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY. 

infidelity  out  of  the  way.  —  That  the  world  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me. 

Deists  ought  to  be  rebuked  for  their  unfair  and  un- 
candid  hostility  to  the  Christian  religion ;  but  while  we 
blame  them,  let  us  be  ingenuous  enough  to  own,  that 
stumbling  blocks  have  been  cast  in  their  way,  by  the 
distorted  views  which  have  too  often  been  given  of  reli- 
gion. After  all  the  complaints  which  we  have  heard, 
concerning  the  various  orders  of  heretics,  it  is  presumed 
that  the  whole  of  them  together  have  not  had  half  the 
influence  in  diffusing  infidelity  through  the  world,  as  has 
been  produced  by  the  old  and  orthodox  church  that  has 
travelled  down  to  us  through  the  dark  ages ;  and  many 
of  the  Protestant  leaders  also,  from  the  Synod  of  Dort 
until  the  present  hour,  have  been  teaching  doctrines  as 
well  calculated  to  fill  the  world  with  deists,  as  any  of 
those  which  have  been  promulgated  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  or  by  any  order  of  heretics  that  ever 
existed. 

Fifthly,  a  just  view  of  the  Divine  character  will  set 
before  us  an  open  door  of  Christian  liberality,  and  thus 
will  facilitate  the  progress  of  truth  through  the  earth. 
We  shall  learr*  that  as  God  has  no  tyranny  in  his  nature, 
so  he  is  always  displeased  with  us  when  we  exercise 
despotic  authority  over  our  fellow-men.  The  better  his 
character  is  understood,  the  brighter  it  will  shine ;  and 
of  course,  there  will  be  no  necessity  to  bind  the  human 
soul  in  ecclesiastical  fetters,  for  fear  it  should  know  and 
understand  the  truth  too  well.     Why  do  ecclesiastical 


WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY.  381 

bodies  ordain  that  men  shall  believe  this,  and  shall  not 
believe  the  other,  but  because  they  suspect  their  sys- 
tems cannot  sustain  themselves  by  evidence,  and  there- 
fore must  be  sustained  by  mere  authority  ?  They  aver, 
that  these  creeds  are  indispensable,  because  it  is  need- 
ful to  tie  the  minds  of  men  down  to  the  truth ;  not  con- 
sidering that  the  same  clerical  process  will  also  tie  the 
human  mind  to  systems  of  error,  as  effectually  as  it  can 
bind  them  to  the  truth,  by  its  authoritative  energy. 
Indeed,  it  is  error  only,  that  requires  these  ecclesiastical 
contrivances.  Truth  wants  them  not;  and  as  little 
does  she  need  the  arts  of  the  sectarian,  to  suppress 
inquiry,  and  to  keep  the  light  of  evidence  from  being 
brought  before  the  public  mind. 

To  "  Arminian  Methodists"  I  appeal ;  and  I  beseech 
them  by  all  the  principles  of  candour  and  consistency, 
to  consider  well,  whether  they  can  avoid  the  entire  sys- 
tem of  original  and  absolute  decrees,  on  any  other 
ground  than  that  which  is  occupied  in  the  preceding 
pages.  Will  they  hold  fast  to  this  whole  system,  for  the 
sake  of  some  long-cherished  tenet,  such  as  that  of 
infant  guilt,  or  the  uniformity  of  hell  torments,  with 
which  the  Calvirristic  system  is  inseparably  connected  1 
Let  all  Christendom  hope  for  better  things ! 

Error  alone  can  receive  support  by  enjoining  it  on 
the  human  mind  to  think  only  as  it  shall  be  directed  by 
ecclesiastical  authority.  Truth  delights  in  the  freedom 
and  sunshine  of  open  day.  She  needs  no  darkness  to 
conceal  her,  and  no  sectarian  management  to  keep  her 


382  WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY. 

evidences  from  being  brought  before  the  public  atten- 
tion. Such  arts  are  needed  only  by  that  which  cannot 
bear  to  be  seen  in  a  clear  light. 

The  clergy  of  the  several  denominations  are  supposed 
to  be  the  guardians  of  the  people's  faith.  They  are  set 
upon  the  walls  of  Zion  to  watch  and  see  when  and 
where  heresy  is  approaching,  and  to  give  the  note  of 
alarm.*     The  Church  of  Rome  makes  no  secret  of  the 

*  The  author  published  a  book  in  1813,  entitled  "  An  Essay  on 
the  Plan  of  Salvation."  Not  long  after  its  publication,  a  Remon- 
strance against  some  of  its  doctrines  was  sent  to  the  General  Con- 
ference in  Baltimore,  of  which  the  author  was  a  member,  by  a 
Local  Minister  of  the  same  community,  whose  name  was  Mark 
Moore.  The  Remonstrance  was  printed,  and  several  copies  dis- 
tributed, I  believe,  some  time  before  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Conference ;  but  shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  session,  it  was 
formally  laid  before  that  body,  that  they  might  interpose  their 
authority  in  the  premises.  Whether  this  document  can  now  be 
had,  is  not  known  with  certainty.  Two  statements  contained  in 
it,  however,  are  distinctly  recollected.  The  brother  who  presented 
the  Remonstrance,  after  pointing  out  the  heresies  of  the  Essay,  told 
the  members  of  the  General  Conference  emphatically,  that  they 
were  "  The  guardians  of  our  faith ;"  and  that  if  the  doctrines  of 
this  book  should  be  admitted,  we  should  have  none  other  than  "  a 
finite  standard,  with  which  to  measure  the  turpitude  of  transgres- 
sion." An  infinite  standard  was  wanted,  it  seems,  with  which  to 
measure  various  degrees  of  criminality,  as  though  there  could  be 
degrees  in  infinity  !  The  General  Conference  referred  the  subject 
to  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference,  to  which  body  the  author  was 
responsible.  A  committee  was  appointed  in  due  form,  and  the 
matter  thoroughly  examined ;  but  we  have  not  learned  that  any 


WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY.  383 

matter,  but  claims  the  right  to  control  all  faith  by  au- 
thority, as  a  prerogative  granted  to  her  from  high  hea- 
ven ;  and  the  faithful  are  duly  notified  by  the  published 
sanction  of  a  bishop,  or  by  some  other  indication  of 
clerical  decision,  what  books  they  are  allowed  to  read. 
Other  denominations  manage  the  business  more  secretly. 
They  whisper  the  matter  significantly  through  the  ranks, 

and  give  their  flocks  to  understand  that  Mr. is  a 

dangerous  man,  and  that  such  and  such  books  are  here- 
tical publications.  The  people  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  hint,  however  indirectly  given ;  and  like  the  ter- 
rified brood  when  it  hears  the  note  of  alarm  from  the 
mother's  voice,  they  run  under  the  wings  of  ecclesias- 
tical authority  for  protection. 

Now  for  my  part,  I  find  myself  unable  to  avoid  these 
following  conclusions:  first,  that  whatever  Protestant 
denomination  is  most  expert  in  these  sectarian  arts,  is 
the  one  which  most  resembles  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Secondly,  if  these  practices  are  innocent  and 
virtuous  in  one  denomination,  they  are  equally  so  in 
another ;  and  of  course,  Unitarians,  Universalists,  Deists, 
and  even  Atheists,  have  as  good  a  right  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  truth  through  society  by  this  course  of  man- 
agement, as  other  people  have.  Thirdly,  such  a  prac- 
tice is  as  fully  calculated  to  promote  error,  as  to  main- 
heresy  was  ever  detected,  and  I  continue  unto  this  day,  witnessing 
to  small  and  great,  and  saying  none  other  thing  than  that  which 
the  prophets  and  apostles  did  say  was  true ;  namely,  that  God  is 
light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all. 


384  WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY. 

tain  "  the  truth  upon  the  earth ;"  and  therefore  it  rests 
upon  the  assumption,  that  truth  and  error  are  supported 
in  the  same  way,  and  depend  upon  the  same  means  for 
their  defence ;  whereas  it  is  undeniable  that  truth  loves 
the  light,  and  error  loves  darkness ;  truth  seeks  to  be 
known  openly,  and  error  wants  concealment;  truth 
flourishes  in  the  sunshine  of  unobstructed  evidence,  and 
error  requires  that  reason  and  revelation  be  suppressed 
by  authority,  or  be  kept  out  of  sight  by  sectarian  policy 
and  intrigue. 

The  author  of  the  present  publication,  it  may  be  said, 
is  very  desirous  to  have  a  hearing  from  all  parties. 
This  is  the  exact  truth  of  the  matter ;  and  he  avows  it 
openly  without  a  blush.  If  Catholics  and  Predestinari- 
ans  shall  resort  to  the  above-mentioned  course  of  man- 
agement, to  keep  the  present. discussion  from  being  read 
and  examined,  it  will  be  no  matter  of  surprise;  but 
should  "  Arminian  Methodists"  do  so,  from  a  suspicion 
that  the  author  has  not  duly  used  a  sectarian  square 
and  compass,  to  make  every  sentence  and  every  senti- 
ment correspond  precisely  with  Old  Methodism,  he  will 
regret  it  seriously,  and  peradventure  will  pray  that  "  the 
counsel  of  Ahithophel  may  be  turned  into  foolishness." 

If  the  reader  will  pardon  this  digression,  we  will 
return  to  the  advantages  of  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
Divine  character,  in  its  influence  upon  future  genera- 
tions. 

Sixthly,  this  knowledge  will  inspire  the  minds  of  men, 
and  fill  them  with  the  unobstructed  glow  of  religious 


WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY.  385 

devotion,  by  clearly  evincing  that  the  nature  of  God 
has  every  thing  in  it  that  is  calculated  to  attract  the 
religious  feelings  of  the  human  soul.  The  mind  will 
not  be  embarrassed  with  contradictions,  nor  enveloped 
in  any  dark  mysteries  to  render  it  doubtful  whether 
good  and  evil,  righteousness  and  unrighteousness,  love 
and  hatred,  be  of  the  same  nature,  and  precisely  similar 
in  their  final  operations. 

Seventhly,  it  will  endear  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
believing  soul,  by  exhibiting  the  consistent  benevolence 
of  the  whole  of  his  mediatorial  labours  and  purposes. 
It  will  be  seen  that  he  came,  not  to  appease  inexorable 
vengeance,  and  to  buy  souls  away  from  their  depen- 
dence upon  heaven's  forgiving  clemency;  but  to  mag- 
nify the  law  and  make  it  honourable ;  to  glorify  the 
Father's  name;  to  declare  his  righteousness;  and  to 
demonstrate  that  Christ  himself,  as  man's  Redeemer, 
was  the  gift  of  the  Father's  love  to  the  icorld.  (John 
iii.  16.) 

Eighthly,  this  true  knowledge  of  God  will  refute  and 
ultimately  eradicate  infidelity,  by  showing  that  it  is 
utterly  without  excuse.  Its  arguments  against  the 
Christian  religion,  which  are  only  applicable  to  a  false 
theology,  wrill  sink  and  disappear ;  and  Deists  will  be 
compelled  to  own,  that  the  God  who  is  revealed  to  man- 
kind in  the  Bible,  possesses  a  character  so  reasonable, 
so  just,  and  so  benevolent,  that  it  must  appear  to  the 
common  intelligence  of  the  world  to  be  worthy  of  all 
acceptation;  and  no  man,  but  an  enemy  to  his  species, 
33  R 


386  WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY. 

can  entertain  a  wish  that  it  might  be  false.  The  more 
clearly  this  Sun  of  righteousness  shall  shine,  and  dis- 
perse the  clouds  of  theological  delusion,  the  more  will 
infidelity  be  confused,  and  the  more  speedily  will  it  be 
compelled  to  hide  its  head  for  shame,  and  to  give  up 
the  contest. 

Ninthly,  it  will  expose  all  kinds  of  tyranny  amongst 
mankind,  by  showing  that  tyranny  is  the  root,  and  cen- 
tre, and  quintessence,  of  all  forms  of  sin ;  and  that  every 
attribute  of  God  stands  as  unchangeably  opposed  to  it, 
as  light  is  opposed  to  darkness,  and  happiness  to  misery. 
It  will  be  clearly  perceived  in  this  sunshine,  that  every 
species  of  malignity  is  a  trait  of  the  Devil's  character ; 
and  that  the  very  reason  why  sinners  are  damned,  is 
that  the  malevolence  of  sin  is  utterly  unfit  for  the  be- 
nignant harmony  of  heaven. 

Tenthly,  this  encouraging  view  of  the  Supreme  Being 
will  enable  and  stimulate  all  Christians  to  "  hold  fast  the 
confidence,  and  the  rejoicing  of  the  hope,  firm  unto  the 
end."  (Heb.  iii.  6.)  All  will  be  brought  to  understand 
the  truth  of  the  matter,  that  the  souls  of  men  are  to  be 
purified  and  saved  by  confidence  and  hope,  and  not  by 
terror  and  despair.  What  more  does  the  apostle  say  to 
the  Hebrews  ?  "  For  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ, 
if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  confidence  steadfast  unto 
the  end."  (Heb.  iii.  1 4.)  This  does  not  mean  that  we 
are  to  hold  fast  the  beginning  of  our  despondency  and 
fear  of  hell  firm  unto  the  end.  Again :  "  We  desire 
that  every  one  of  you  do  show  the  same  diligence,  to 


WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY.  387 

the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end."  (Heb.  vi.  11.) 
Once  more :  "  Cast  not  away  therefore  your  confidence, 
which  hath  great  recompense  of  reward."  (Heb.  x.  35.) 
Hence  we  see,  that  men  are  purified  and  fitted  for  the 
great  recompense  of  reward,  by  " confidence"  by  " the 
rejoicing  of  the  hope"  and  by  "  the  full  assurance  of 
hope."  This  differs  very  materially  from  the  supposi- 
tion, that  the  great  sanctifying  and  saving  instrument- 
ality, is  to  be  nothing  else  than  the  fear  of  infinite  pun- 
ishment. 

Lastly,  this  subject  will  prepare  the  way  for  the 
world's  conversion,  and  will,  with  a  mild  but  a  mighty 
energy,  melt  down  the  hearts  of  men  into  the  gospel 
mould.  For  "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know 
thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou 
hast  sent."  If  eternal  life  comes  by  knowing  God, 
it  certainly  must  be  by  knowing  him  in  his  true  cha- 
racter, and  not  by  viewing  him  as  a  double-minded 
being,  or  as  taking  pleasure  in  the  endless  misery  of 
any  portion  of  his  intelligent  creation.  Mankind  will 
be  brought  to  understand,  that  all  sin  consists  in  diver- 
sified modes  of  carrying  into  operation  an  odious  ma- 
lignity, which  has  long  been  excused  by  a  false  theology, 
but  which  in  reality  is  utterly  inexcusable.  They  will 
learn  that  sin  is  an  irrational  and  detestable  enmity 
against  perfect  loveliness  and  righteousness;  that  its 
essential  nature  is  to  produce  misery,  both  in  ourselves 
and  others;  that  t*his  misery  will  increase,  as  sin  in- 
creases ;   and  that  all  the  interests  of  heaven,  and  the 


388  WELFARE  OF  POSTERITY. 

gl'ory  of  eternal  goodness,  will  require  that  every  incor- 
rigible sinner  shall  have  a  damnation  proportioned  to 
the  vileness  of  his  hostility  against  God,  and  against  all 
intelligent  society.  Thus  learning  that  sin  carries  an 
awful  hell  in  its  own  bosom,  and  that  the  sinner  must 
feel  another  awful  hell  by  that  just  operation  of  the  Di- 
vine government  which  is  necessary  to  prevent  the 
poison  from  spreading  through  the  universe,  thoughtful 
millions  will  flee  from  sin,  as  being  the  very  devil,  and 
the  very  hell,  that  ought  to  be  eternally  dreaded  and 
abhorred ;  and  they  will  return  to  the  Paternal  Bosom 
of  unchanging  Benevolence,  as  the  strong  Tower,  into 
which  they  may  continually  resort.  Thus  will  they  ex- 
perimentally realize  the  deep  meaning  of  our  Saviour's 
sublime  and  finishing  prayer,  which  we  have  twice 
quoted,  and  which  ought  to  be  repeated  and  remem- 
bered every  day,  and  if  possible,  every  hour  of  our 
lives, — "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast 
sent."     (John  xvii.  3.) 


CONCLUSION. 

The  reader  will  observe,  that  in  the  foregoing  pages 
no  hypothesis  is  formed,  in  regard  to  any  precise  results 
of  the  Divine  administration  through  the  great  deep  of 
a  coming  eternity.  The  prominent  axioms  of  the  Bible, 
in  accordance  with  all  the  analogies  of  nature,  have 
conducted  us  to  the  delightful  conclusion,  that  a  Being 
presides  over  the  destinies  of  the  universe,  whose  suffi- 
ciency, character,  and  designs,  are  the  most  glorious 
and  lovely  that  it  is  possible  for  created  or  uncreated 
intelligence  to  conceive.  Men  and  angels  have  cause 
for  eternal  exultation  that  the  Almighty  lives,  and  can 
lift  up  his  hand  to  heaven,  and  say,  Hive  for  ever.  (Deut. 
xxxii.  40.)  All  who  know  and  love  the  truth,  will  rejoice 
in  the  existence,  the  happiness,  the  sincerity,  the  justice, 
the  authority,  the  wisdom,  the  power,  the  goodness,  the 
impartiality,  and  the  immutability  of  God. 

From  such  a  character  the  indubitable  inference  is, 
that  all  the  punishments  judicially  inflicted  by  Him,  will 
be  the  energy  of  Love  opposing  Malice — that  is,  essen- 
tial goodness  rightfully  repelling  the  malignant  efforts 
of  essential  evil.  The  design  and  tendency  of  all  the 
Divine  penalties  are,  to  prevent  evil,  to  hold  it  in  check, 
to  drive  it  back,  to  weaken,  diminish  and  destroy  it. 
This  must  be  admitted  by  all  who  are  willing  to  admit, 
that  the  actions  of  God  are  diametrically  opposite  to  those 

33  #   *  •  ,  (389) 


390  CONCLUSION, 

i 

of  the  devil.  The  devices  of  the  latter  are  invariably 
intended  to  promote  evil,  to  remove  checks  out  of  its  way, 
to  strengthen,  enlarge,  and  perpetuate  it.  For  this  very 
reason  God  opposes  the  devil,  and  calls  upon  all  his 
children  to  resist  him  steadfast  in  the  faith ;  and  "  for  this 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that  he  might 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil ;"  consequently  their  ac- 
tions never  co-operate;  seeing  the  one  is  invariably 
aiming  to  build  up  what  the  other  is  using  his  efforts  to 
destroy. 

Hence  it  is  evident,  that  an  intelligent  course  of  ac- 
tion, on  the  part  of  a  Being  who  is  opposite  in  character 
to  the  devil,  must  be  opposite  in  design  and  tendency. 
Yet  in  all  this  mighty  conflict  of  good  and  evil,  no  me- 
chanical force  is  applied  to  the  agency  of  any  indi- 
vidual. How  long  the  devil  and  his  angels  will  persist 
in  their  malicious  war  against  heaven,  or  how  many  of 
the  abandoned  children  of  Adam  they  will  have  in  their 
train,  we  know  not  and  presume  not  to  conjecture.  A 
sinner  who  says  in  his  heart,  that  he  will  never  forsake 
his  sins  so  long  as  he  is  allowed  to  anticipate  any  thing 
less  than  infinite  misery,  might  as  well  say  in  plain  lan- 
guage, that  he  must  have  a  tyrant  to  govern  him,  be- 
cause he  is  not,  and  will  not  be,  any  thing  else  than  an 
abject  slave.  A  tyrant  is  already  the  ruler  of  his  soul ; 
for  as  the  disposition  of  the  devil  is  to  promote  evil,  to 
remove  checks  out  of  its  way,  to  push  it  forward,  to 
strengthen,  enlarge,  and  perpetuate  it,  his  obvious  pur- 


CONCLUSION.  391 

pose  appears  to  be  to  keep  his  slaves  in  sin  and  in  all  its 
consequences  without  end  and  without  diminution. 

A  man  who  says  in  his  heart,  that  nothing  else  than 
such  an  anticipation  of  the  future  shall  restrain  him  from 
sin,  says  plainly  that  the  government  of  God  is  a  burden 
so  intolerable,  that  subjection  to  it  is  a  calamity  than 
which  nothing  can  be  a  greater,  except  only  a  torment 
that  will  fill  the  uttermost  capacity  of  the  soul  for  ever 
and  ever !  And  suppose  a  man  of  this  sentiment  should 
be  frightened  to  repentance  by  the  fear  of  such  a  hell, 
would  he  be  a  fit  companion  for  angels  ?  Alas  !  for  reli- 
gious teachers  to  make  this  dreadful  picture  a  substitute 
for  the  character  of  God,  as  the  means  whereby  to  re- 
form mankind,  would  be  like  an  attempt  to  blow  out  the 
Sun,  in  order  to  enlighten  the  world  by  the  fires  of  a 
volcano. 

It  is  supposed  that  all  other  motives,  except  this  fiery 
one,  will  be  utterly  inefficient ;  and  that  if  we  present 
to  mankind  any  thing  short  of  a  torment  the  most  abso- 
lute that  can  be  conceived,  we  shall  sap  the  foundation 
of  all  the  morals  of  society.  But  it  would  be  no  diffi- 
cult matter  to  evince  that  the  morals  produced  by  the 
sole  influence  of  this  motive  would  be  a  kind  of  service 
that  God  will  not  accept  of  any  man.  For  every  act 
of  service  from  this  consideration,  would  be  an  impeach- 
ment of  all  God's  essential  attributes.  Every  effort  at 
repentance  and  reformation  would  carry  this  language 
in  its  bosom : — the  dread  of  an  absolute  despotism  is 
the  only  thing  that  influences  me  to  give  up  my  sins ; 


392  CONCLUSION. 

and  if  I  had  any  other  way  to  escape  absolute  misery, 
there  is  nothing  in  God,  or  in  his  government  and  king- 
dom, for  the  sake  of  which  I  would  devote  myself  to 
his  service.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  in  this  reformation 
there  would  be  no  principle,  and  no  vestige  of  true 
repentance ;  for  it  would  imply  no  conviction  of  crimi- 
nality, but  merely  that  the  individual  has  the  misfortune 
to  be  under  the  power  of  a  Being  whose  vengeance 
cannot  be  resisted. 

It  is  true,  as  Dr.  Young  says,  "  They  that  will  not 
fear  shall  feel  the  wrath  of  heaven."  But  this  wrath, 
as  we  have  before  explained,  is  a  holy  and  just  course 
of  action  against  the  raging  energy  of  moral  evil ;  and 
a  sinner  who  deprecates  this  wrath  reveres  the  righte- 
ousness and  loveliness  of  the  character  from  which  it 
proceeds ;  and  his  dread  of  losing  the  favour  of  such  a 
Ruler  is  an  essential  ingredient  in  all  his  religious  fears. 

Good  men  are  quickly  alarmed,  lest  the  motives  to 
restrain  vice  should  be  weakened ;  and  they  seem  rea- 
dily to  take  for  granted,  that  the  strongest  view  of  future 
misery  that  can  be  conceived,  is  necessary  to  the  refor- 
mation of  the  world ;  but  if  this  be  true,  we  must  of 
course  exhibit  the  uttermost  that  it  would  be  possible 
for  Almighty  malevolence  to  inflict.  Now  will  good 
men  undertake  to  sustain  the  position,  that  God  will 
really  inflict  this  amount  of  punishment  ?  If  so,  they 
must  plainly  teach,  that  there  is  no  difference  between 
the  conduct  of  our  Creator,  and  that  of  an  Infinite  Ty- 
rant ;  and  where  there  is  no  difference  in  conduct,  there 


CONCLUSION.  393 

is  obviously  no  difference  in  character.  Hence  the  con- 
clusion would  be,  that  there  is  no  way  effectually  to  dis- 
courage sin,  but  to  maintain  that  our  Creator  is  essen- 
tially an  evil  and  malicious  Being.  This  cannot  be 
true ;  therefore  such  views  of  futurity  as  are  perfectly 
consistent  with  the  rectitude  and  benevolence  of  God, 
asd  those  alone,  will  be  really  salutary  in  their  tendency. 

Abraham  informed  the  rich  man  in  hell,  that  if  his 
five  brethren  would  not  hear  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
neither  would  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  should 
arise  from  the  dead.  Now  if  the  strongest  possible 
view  of  this  matter  be  necessary  to  reform  the  world, 
the  rich  man  was  right,  in  supposing  that  one  should  go 
from  the  dead  to  give  the  most  impressive  representa- 
tion that  could  be  given. 

But  Abraham  said,  they  have  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
let  them  hear  them.  Now  what  did  Moses  and  the 
prophets  teach  1  Did  they  teach  that  sin  is  an  infinite 
evil,  and  therefore  will  be  punished  with  an  infinite  pun- 
ishment ?  Where  is  it  written  1  They  merely  taught 
that  God  is  a  holy  and  just  and  good  Being,  who  will 
forgive  sinners  if  they  repent,  and  who,  if  they  repent 
not,  will  punish  them  according  to  the  turpitude  and 
malignity  of  their  evil  deeds. 

It  will  puzzle  any  man  to  find  where  Moses  and  the 
prophets  ever  taught  the  doctrine  of  infinite  misery  for 
the  wicked ;  and  yet  Abraham  informs  us,  that  if  there 
be  not  force  enough  in  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the 


394  CONCLUSION. 

prophets,  a  messenger  from  the  dead  would  avail  no- 
thing. 

No  stronger  proof  could  be  given,  that  it  is  not  simple 
fear,  but  a  correct  view  of  the  Divine  glory  which 
Moses  and  the  prophets  gave,  that  will  bring  sinners  to 
repentance;  and  the  view  which  they  presented  was 
that  God's  government  and  character,  are  perfectly 
consistent  with  eternal  goodness  and  righteousness. 

A  sinner  who  says  in  his  heart  that  no  other  consi- 
deration than  that  above  mentioned  shall  ever  restrain 
him  from  sin,  resolves  to  hold  fast  the  very  disposition 
which  will  make  it  necessary  for  his  punishment  to  be 
eternal;  for  God  will  never  accept  of  any  service 
offered  from  this  slavish  motive ;  and  if  the  sinner  per- 
sist to  eternity  in  refusing  to  be  influenced  by  any  other, 
it  will  of  course  be  necessary  for  him  to  be  punished 
for  ever.  This  motive,  therefore,  which  is  thought  to 
be  so  exclusively  efficient  in  reforming  mankind,  mani- 
festly tends  to  'prevent  their  reformation. 

No  man  who  believes  the  Bible,  will  deny  that  the 
love  of  God  is  essential  to  Christian  holiness ;  and  we  are 
bound  to  love  him  in  his  true  character,  and  not  to  im- 
pute false  attributes  to  him ;  for  this  would  be  to  love 
that  which  is  not  God.  Now  if  we  love  him  for  punish- 
ing his  creatures,  it  must  be  from  a  conviction  of  the 
truth,  that  he  does  so  from  a  lovely  principle :  namely, 
to  promote  and  defend  happiness ;  and  consequently,  he 
will  not  augment  the  punishment,  either  in  degree  or 
duration,  beyond  the  accomplishment  of  this  object. 


CONCLUSION.  395 

Many  sinners  may  have  been  terrified  by  apprehen- 
sions of  absolute  wrath,  and  may  have  been  thereby 
brought  to  a  serious  consideration  of  their  future  des- 
tiny ;  but  in  all  such  instances  one  of  two  things  has 
followed  :  either  this  awful  sentiment  has  given  place  to 
more  worthy  thoughts  of  God,  whereby  they  found  it 
possible  for  them  to  love  him  ;  or  they  have  wandered 
away  from  all  true  religion.  Some  have  run  into  infi- 
delity ;  others  into  despair ;  some  into  a  mad  determi- 
nation to  take  a  little  pleasure  in  sin  while  they  have 
the  opportunity ;  and  others,  it  may  be,  into  the  soothing 
imagination  that  the  great  Sovereign  has  secured  them 
individually  from  all  danger  of  condemnation  by  an 
eternal  decree  ;  and  that  it  is  a  righteous  thing  for  them 
to  hate  heretics  and  reprobates,  and  to  take  pleasure  in 
their  endless  misery,  as  their  Creator  does.  If  God 
punishes  any  beings  merely  for  the  sake  of  punishing 
them,  it  must  be  because  he  has  a  hatred  against  their 
persons,  and  of  course  originally  reprobated  them ; 
therefore  the  doctrine  of  infinite  wrath,  of  which  we 
are  speaking,  and  that  of  eternal  reprobation,  are  essen- 
tially and  immutably  joined  together. 

It  may  be  replied,  however,  that  the  change  is  in  the 
creatures  themselves ;  and  that  though  God  once  loved 
them,  yet  he  now  hates  them,  not  as  creatures,  but 
merely  in  regard  to  their  evil  character.  The  answer 
is  easy :  if  he  hates  their  evil  character,  it  is  not  his 
will  that  they  should  have  such  a  character ;  and  there- 
fore he  is  not  unwilling  that  they  should  abandon  it. 


396  CONCLUSION. 

If  he  punishes  them  only  because  of  their  bad  charac- 
ter, he  will  proportion  the  punishment  to  the  amount  of 
its  badness,  and  will  vary  it,  according  as  the  character 
shall  vary.  If  on  the  contrary,  he  fixes  them  in  a  bad 
character  by  his  own  power,  in  order  to  perpetuate  and 
augment  their  misery,  it  must  be  because  he  hates  them 
as  creatures,  and  consequently  ho  ted  them  from  all 
eternity. 

We  must  briefly  notice  an  objection,  a  little  different 
from  those  before  examined;  namely,  that  any  other 
view  of  future  misery,  than  that  of  its  infinity,  will  afford 
sinners  a  prospect  beyond  the  grave ;  and  many  will 
continue  in  sin  to  the  end  of  life,  who  otherwise  might 
have  accepted  the  terms  of  salvation. 

That  foolish  men  can  pervert  any  thing,  even  the 
Scriptures  themselves,  to  their  own  destruction,  is  a  de- 
plorable reality  for  which  we  have  the  authority  of  the 
apostle  Peter ;  but  the  truth  is  not  to  be  censured  for 
their  perdition ;  for  it  is  by  the  influence  of  some  error 
which  they  associate  with  it,  that  they  are  led  into  their 
inexcusable  presumption  and  apostasy. 

The  doctrine  which  the  Bible  authorizes  us  to  believe, 
and  to  urge  upon  mankind,  is  that  God  will  inflict  on 
the  wicked  eternal  punishment,  apportioning  the  inflic- 
tion in  every  instance,  to  the  amount  of  evil  which  each 
sinner  shall  voluntarily  maintain  and  exercise.  This 
will  be  done  in  order  to  bind  down  the  evil  for  the  pro- 
tection of  society,  and  to  prevent,  in  the  issue,  a  greater 
amount  of  misery  than  will  be  produced  by  this  penal 


CONCLUSION.  397 

operation.  The  evil  of  sin  is  thus  exhibited  in  the  most 
alarming  point  of  view,  that  is  possible  to  be  conceived 
by  the  human  mind ;  for  this  supposes  it  to  involve  the 
sinner  in  an  immense  amount  of  misery,  under  the  pen- 
alty of  a  benevolent  law,  and  that  if  the  penalty  should 
be  removed,  its  consequences  would  be  more  dreadful 
still. 

The  force  of  this  penalty,  or  otherwise  a  greater 
amount  of  misery  by  its  removal,  cannot  be  prevented, 
except  by  reforming  the  sinner,  or  by  changing  the  na- 
ture of  sin  itself,  and  converting  it  into  a  good  thing ; 
which  is  a  matter  that  Almighty  power  is  not  able  to 
accomplish.  To  say  that  a  man  who  really  believes  all 
this,  will  be  influenced  by  his  faith  to  persevere  in  sin, 
is  to  exhibit  a  proposition  that  has  in  it  the  obvious  cha- 
racteristics of  a  direct  contradiction. 

The  same  doctrine  which  thus  exposes  sin  to  eternal 
infamy,  glorifies  God  as  a  Being  of  uncompounded  ex- 
cellence and  perfection  ;  for  it  represents  his  whole  pro- 
cess as  being  intended  to  counteract  sin,  to  subdue  it, 
and  to  prevent  or  terminate  its  ravages,  so  far  as  this 
can  be  accomplished  by  the  energy  of  his  moral  law. 
Through  an  endless  futurity  his  whole  course  of  action 
will  be  as  fully  directed  against  the  continuance  and 
consequences  of  sin,  as  they  have  been  at  any  time  since 
sin  was  first  introduced  into  the  creation.  To  believe 
the  contrary,  is  evidently  to  suppose  that  in  a  future 
state  our  Creator  will  totally  alter  his  measures,  with  a 
view  to  perpetuate  the  very  evils  which  he  had  previ- 
34 


308  CONCLUSION. 

ously  been  labouring  to  counteract  and  to  destroy. 
Hence,  one  of  these  two  conclusions  seems  unavoidable: 
either  that  his  character  will  have  essentially  changed, 
or  that  he  wras  of  the  same  disposition  and  purpose  from 
everlasting ;  and  consequently  decreed  to  reprobate  a 
large  proportion  of  the  human  family.  It  remains,  there- 
fore, for  all  mankind  to  choose  whether  they  will  em- 
brace the  doctrine  of  eternal  reprobation,  or  abandon 
the  notion  so  long  taken  for  granted  without  examina- 
tion, that  God  will  bind  the  wicked  in  a  state  of  inevita- 
ble sin,  for  fear  their  torment  should  not  be  sufficiently 
infinite  and  eternal. 

To  suppose  that  a  belief  in  God,  as  a  truly  benevo- 
lent Being,  will  necessarily  encourage  men  in  sin,  im- 
plies, as  I  have  before  said,  and  will  again  repeat,  that 
mankind  must  regard  the  Creator  as  a  tyrant,  in  order 
to  the  reformation  of  our  fallen  race.  Whence  it  would 
follow,  that  a  tyrannical  character  is  calculated  to  make 
a  better  impression  upon  the  moral  faculties  of  the  mind, 
than  a  character  of  perfect  rectitude  and  love.  This 
contradicts  all  reason  and  revelation ;  and  therefore  the 
premises  are  false,  from  which  it  results  as  a  necessary 
consequence. 


Now,  beloved  reader,  having  closed  the  argument, 
wre  are  almost  at  the  end  of  our  present  journey.  Do 
you  ask  me  why  I  have  pursued  such  an  eccentric 
course  1  It  was  from  an  honest  conviction  that  I  ought 
to  follow  truth  and  evidence  wherever  thev  should  lead 


CONCLUSION.  399 

me,  and  that  they  have  fairly  conducted  me  to  the  con- 
clusions which  you  have  seen  exhibited.  I  have  not 
suppressed  the  conviction  of  my  judgment  in  any  one 
instance,  for  fear  an  avowal  of  it  would  not  be  popular ; 
nor  modified  a  single  sentiment,  with  the  intention  to 
make  it  correspond  with  the  opinions  of  any  man  or 
body  of  men  upon  earth.  I  cannot  for  my  life  arrive 
at  any  other  conclusion,  than  that  all  such  arts  of  policy 
have  vain-glory  and  deceit  at  the  bottom  of  them.  An 
honest  man  will  ingenuously  state  what  is  really  his 
own  opinion ;  and  this  "  truth  in  the  inward  parts"  is 
what  the  Almighty  God  requires  of  every  soul  under 
heaven. 

The  practice  of  suppressing  the  truth,  or  refusing  to 
follow  its  evidences,  or  endeavouring  by  any  modes  of 
ingenious  management  to  prevent  others  from  devoting 
themselves  to  an  attentive  and  candid  examination  of 
it,  with  a  view  to  promote  the  influence  and  authority 
of  any  sect  whatever,  will  peradventure  yet  be  seen  to 
be  nothing  else  than  a  species  of  real  wickedness,  for 
which  bigots  of  every  order  ought  to  humble  them- 
selves under  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  To  resort  to 
any  such  method  for  the  support  of  any  Protestant 
church,  is  as  perfectly  inexcusable,  as  it  is  to  make  use 
of  similar  stratagems  for  the  support  and  advancement 
of  popery ;  and  so  far  as  any  order  of  people  attempt 
to  suppress  truth  by  authority,  or  to  divert  the  public 
attention  from  the  examination  of  evidence  by  sectarian 
management,  so  far  they  appear  to  be  marching  for- 


400  CONCLUSION. 

ward  in  the  long-trodden  paths  of  clerical  power  and 
cunning,  which  have  so  mournfully  disgraced  the  annals 
of  Christendom.  To  pretend  that  such  a  course  is  ne- 
cessary to  prevent  Heresy  and  Schism,  is  precisely  the 
old  pretension  which  has  been  urged  for  more  than 
twelve  hundred  years,  and  which  was  a  principal  cause 
of  producing  that  long  and  dismal  night  of  delusion  and 
misery,  called  the  Dark  Ages,  which  will  be  remem- 
bered with  astonishment  and  indignation  to  the  end  of 
time.  Any  modern  denomination  must  first  prove  itself 
to  be  more  infallible  than  Roman  Catholics,  before  it 
can  have  any  thing  like  a  plausible  excuse  for  resorting 
to  a  practice  so  well  calculated  to  involve  the  Christian 
world  in  ignorance,  error,  superstition  and  crime,  as 
that  of  trying  to  influence  men  to  "  turn  away  their  ears 
from  the  truth"  under  pretence  that  the  Church  is  our 
infallible  mother,  and  that  the  support  of  her  unity,  her 
increase,  her  power  and  influence,  is  to  be  the  Alpha 
and  Omega  of  all  our  counsels,  plans  and  operations. 
This  is  to  make  Christians  the  servants  of  men,  and  to 
hinder  them  from  being  in  reality  the  servants  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  king  of  truth ;  and 
"  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  just, 
whatsoever  things  are  honest"  are  essential  to  the  sup- 
port of  his  kingdom ;  and  he  commands  all  his  disciples 
to  "  think  on  these  things."  Let  Christians  of  all  orders 
obey  this  Divine  command ;  and  let  them  all  resolve  like 
men  who  "  have  one  Master,  even  Christ,"  that  neither 
the  assumed  authority  of  human  creeds,  nor  the  ingeni- 


CONCLUSION.  401 

ous  policy  of  sectarians,  shall  hinder  them  from  using 
all  the  means  within  their  reach,  that  maybe  calculated 
to  aid  them  in  thinking  on  these  things  with  due  atten- 
tion and  fairness  of  mind,  as  responsible  creatures  who 
must  give  account  unto  God  for  the  exercise  of  their 
mental  faculties,  as  well  as  for  the  ordinary  actions  of 
life. 

Let  us  now  conclude  by  stating  the  principal  maxims 
which  we  think  have  been  sustained. 

1.  That  God,  when  he  spoke  accountable  creatures 
into  life,  with  a  clear  foresight  of  all  the  developements 
of  eternal  duration,  knew  with  infallible  certainty,  that 
the  act  of  creation  was  an  act  of  infinite  benevolence. 

2.  That  from  this  perfect  discernment  of  all  future 
results,  his  Divine  Mind  is  and  ever  will  be  happy  and 
undisturbed,^in  surveying  all  the  events  which  take  place, 
now  and  hereafter,  under  his  grand  and  universal  go- 
vernment. 

3.  That  our  murmurings  and  perplexities  in  our  pre- 
sent state  of  being,  in  regard  to  our  Maker's  dispensa- 
tions, arise  from  our  ignorance  and  corruption ;  and  that 
it  is  no  less  our  interest  than  our  duty,  to  use  all  the 
means  in  our  power  to  have  that  ignorance  and  corrup- 
tion removed  and  eradicated. 

4.  That  the  saints  and  angels  in  heaven  will  have 
such  a  clear  knowledge  of  God's  ability  and  disposition 
to  support  happiness  as  will  fill  them  with  perfect  com- 
posure, in  view  of  all  the  existing  facts  in  immensity, 
and  all  their  anticipations  for  eternity. 

34*  r* 


402  CONCLUSION. 

5.  That  opposition  to  God  is  as  inexcusable  in  a  fu- 
ture state  as  in  the  present ;  and  that  the  penalty  of  the 
law  is  directed  against  a  malignant  agency,  which  if 
not  thus  restrained,  would  diffuse  misery  through  the 
universe,  and  would  even  wage  war  against  the  happi- 
ness of  God  himself. 

6.  That  this  righteous  energy  of  God  is  directed  in 
the  best  manner  possible  to  sustain  universal  right,  and 
to  overcome  evil  ivith  good.  It  cannot  be  proved  that 
our  Creator  does  any  thing  to  compel  sinners  in  hell  to 
continue  wicked,  unless  it  can  be  made  appear  that 
right  conduct  in  one  Being  compels  others  to  do  wrong. 

7.  That  God,  by  the  moral  display  of  his  glory  through 
eternal  ages,  will  satisfy  all  his  children  of  the  goodness 
and  perfection  of  his  whole  plan  of  government;  and 
will  make  it  delightfully  manifest  that  He  is  able  to  do 
exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  ice  ask  or  think. 

8.  Finally,  God  will  not  connive  at  sin,  on  the  one 
hand,  nor  exercise  tyranny,  on  the  other. 

The  only  way  to  avoid  presumption  or  blasphemy, 
is  to  believe  without  wavering,  that  God  is,  in  the  most 
perfect  sense  of  the  expression,  a  Good  Being,  whose 
penalties  are  intended  to  cast  back  upon  sinners  the 
misery  which  they  would  otherwise  diffuse  through  the 
creation.  To  make  these  penalties  less  than  they  are, 
would  be  to  produce  misery  by  encouraging  sin;  to 
make  them  greater  than  they  are,  would  be  to  produce 
misery  by  inflicting  an  amount  of  it  which  is  not  neces- 
sary to  sustain  the  system  on  which  the  common  happi- 


CONCLUSION.  403 

ness  is  suspended.  God  will  not  do  the  one  or  the 
other;  and  the  character  displayed  by  his  just  and  equal 
administration,  is  the  only  one  which  has,  or  can  have, 
a  wholesome  and  saving  influence  upon  intelligent  crea- 
tures, by  drawing  them  from  sin  to  holiness,  from  misery 
to  happiness,  and  by  establishing  them  in  a  state  of  eter- 
nal harmony  with  one  another,  and  with  their  Benevo- 
lent Father  in  heaven. 


Note. — The  author  had  prepared  an  Appendix,  occasioned  by  a 
late  publication  entitled  "  Difficulties  of  Arminian  Methodism," 
appealing  to  numerous  authorities  to  show  that  the  Calvinistic  sys- 
tem had  been  misrepresented,  and  that  the  system  of  the  Armini- 
ans  is  involved  in  greater  difficulties  than  those  which  they  attempt 
to  fasten  upon  the  doctrine  of  their  opponents.  It  was  perceived, 
however,  as  the  matter  was  being  put  in  type,  that  the  Appendix 
would  have  to  be  omitted,  as  it  would  swell  the  present  volume 
considerably  beyond  its  intended  limits.  This,  upon  reflection,  is 
not  regretted ;  because  it  is  believed  that  the  matter  contained  in 
the  Appendix  can,  at  a  future  time,  be  modified  and  enlarged,  and 
be  published  separately  to  better  advantage. 


V 


